Angels and Demons
by Nuclotei
Summary: Higurashi Kagome is your typical twenty-something - dull job, single, and lonely. But when her nightmares begin to take a life of their own, she must search for answers. With a jilted cop at her side, can Kagome beat the odds and find the truth? A/U
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So, between rewriting Payback, and postponing Hakushin for a rewrite as well as a continuation I thought I would start on this piece of work. I found it lurking in my Yahoo! mailbox and when I opened it, I barely remembered writing it! So, I thought it was mildly interesting and decided to give it a go. Tell me what you think. If you have anything you want to add and don't feel like putting it in a review, you can E-mail me at .

Extras: I'm putting the rating at** PG-13** or whatever is equivalent to that rating on FFnet's new system. But certain chapters may go up.....you were warned.

Also, Reviewers and questions will be noted/answered at the end of each chapter so **please give me lots of reviews**!

Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns InuYasha and Co. I just screw them up to entertain fans.

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Chapter One

Angels and Demons

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_Only if angels are here then demons may be as well_

_The inside of everyone's heart is like that, black & white_

_Only if love is here then pain may be as well_

_Tonight this world changes....._

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"You know, my Mom always used to tell us that if we looked hard enough, we'd be able to see angels and demons everywhere we go." She took a long drink from her beer finishing it off before setting it down loudly on the round wooden table before her.

"And do you know what? She was right. Because you, my good Sir, are indeed a demon." Smiling lazily at the man sitting across from her in the same type of uncomfortable wooden chair she was in, Kagome slapped her hand down on the cool, smooth surface of the table before standing on wobbly legs. In what could be called a less than sober state she took the three necessary steps between herself and the man in the chair and proceeded to make herself comfortable by collapsing none too gently in his lap.

"I'm a demon am I?" The man said in a silky, deep yet amused tone of voice, a strong hand resting on the curve of her waist to keep her steady on his lap and to shift her into a slightly more comfortable position. Kagome nodded once, sharply.

"An evil one at that. You'll take what you want from me and then leave." Her eyes roamed around the room before closing, as she laid her head on his shoulder, breathing in his scent. "But that's all right; I don't have much to take." Her voice slurred slightly as she exhaled, thankfully away from his face. Her hand slowly reached out, fully intending on taking the man's half empty beer bottle and claiming it as her own. But after one sluggish blink, she found her hand held soundly against his firm chest.

"Kagome, I'm going to take you home, okay?" Her eyes grew childlike and confused as her brow furrowed in thought.

"But I'm not done drinking yet!" She said in what one could only assume to be the start of a tantrum that quickly turned into more confusion as she felt the man's chest rumble with his low chuckle.

"I think you are." He stood slowly his hand never leaving her small waist as she slid off of his lap onto her feet, her knees threatening to give out. "Come on." He said softly into her hair as he moved his hand from her waist to the small of her back and steered her in the direction of the bar entrance.

Kagome looked up at him, her eyes trailing over his neck, to his jet black hair, pulled into a low pony-tail, then to his strong jaw line, her eyes glazing over with unshed tears.

"You're something from a dream." She stated in a pained whisper, not even aware she was speaking out loud as the cool night air brushed against every part of exposed skin it could, making her shiver. "One that I don't know if I want to remember." She felt the tears constrict her throat and she sniffled once.

The man leaned her against the side of his black Hyundai Accent and looked down at her with a warm smile as he shoved a hand in his pocket, digging for his keys.

"Everyone reminds you of someone else when you're drunk Kagome." He stated matter-of-factly, his violet eyes locking onto her chocolate ones before he hit the lock button on the car, causing her to jump from the sudden noise.

She thought about his statement, not even noticing that she was being placed into the passenger seat of his car until he had already shut his own door, and was buckled in safely beside her. Kagome watched him silently as he started the car, and pulled out of the parking lot.

"I know you're a guy, so you wouldn't really understand dreaming about someone then seeing them walk around like they were really all along…" She said conversationally, to take her mind off of the sudden wave of bile that had started to make its way into her throat, as she watched the street lamps fly past in odd blurs. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, watching her profile.

"Look at me Kagome." His voice was slightly commanding, causing her skin to prickle from the roughness and from the realness that couldn't be possible.

Swallowing she looked over at the man who's face seemed to blur in and out of prospective. Moving her hand from her lap to her eyes was harder than she ever remembered it being, and nearly smacked herself in attempt to rub them. She could feel his eyes on her face, and she knew that her brain was telling her head to turn so that she could look at him, but the damn thing just would not turn. Not only that, her eyes seemed to have funny little black spots floating in front of them.

"Kagome, are you all right?" His voice turned from commanding to concerned and she found herself speaking without her brain giving consent.

"I think.....I'm going to be sick." Was her final statement for the evening as her eyes closed, and she slumped against his shoulder. Breathing in his wonderful scent, a scent that she was sure that she had known forever, and that would haunt her dreams for the rest of her life.

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Kagome slowly opened her eyes, a steady stream of sunlight hitting her straight in the face from her opened window. She let out a low groan and picked up her arm to place it across her face, trying to stop the pain before gagging on what she was sure, would be everything she had eaten for the past week.

"Christ....." She muttered before rolling out of her warm bed, only to fall onto the beige carpeted floor, grabbing the blue plastic trash can she was sure had been in the bathroom the previous day and proceeded to hurl her guts out.

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It took her nearly two hours to control her bodily functions to where she could manage to slowly pull her weak body to it's feet and sway her way into the bathroom for a shower and a few dozen aspirin.

Digging around the bathroom cabinets for the Motrin proved to be more than her head could handle at the moment, every sound echoing in her brain like she standing in a canyon where someone had held down the button for the worlds fleet of ships to blow their fog horns. So making as little noise as possible, she shut the cabinet door, and padded across the cold tile sending a shiver down her spine, causing her to remember shivering against the side of a man during her little drink-fest.

She groaned as she brushed her dark hair back from her pale face and leaned over to turn on the shower, the squeaking of the metal knobs sending her nerves on a rampant run of pain through out her body.

Kagome closed her eyes as she unbuttoned her wrinkled, blue blouse and shrugged it off, letting it fall to the floor in a pile, soon followed by her black pants and undergarments. Lifting her arm, she pulled back the shower curtain, only to have her mind reel in pain as the hooks holding up the curtain screeched against the bar that stretched from one side of the ceramic shower to the other.

With a muttered curse she stepped into the stream of hot water, her muscles loosening with every drop that trailed down her bare skin and with painstakingly great care she slowly closed the curtain, managing to keep the sound down to a minimum.

It was the most wonderful thing she could have asked for at the moment, other than complete darkness and morphine until she let the small lovely pellets of water hit the top of her head, causing a low drumming sound that had her stumbling away from the stream. Stepping on a bar of soap Kagome yelped as she grabbed the shower curtain, and saw spots dance before her eyes as the bar gave way in a high pitched shriek and came crashing down on top of her, as she came crashing down hard onto the cold tub base.

As the curtain fell down around her like a blanket Kagome stared up at the ceiling, at the droplets of water collecting from the steam and saw her vision blur. In some part of her mind she realized that she was laying on the shower floor, covered in a curtain and letting water spray all over her bathroom, but the part of her mind that counted was staring up at a cave ceiling as pain seared through her side.

"_Kagome...Kami, do something!" Her eyes drifted from the drops of water collecting on the dark rock ceiling of the cave to angry golden eyes that seemed to burn into her own. Her eyes drifted from his eyes to the his mouth, where a trail of blood ran down his chin in a thin red streak. _

"_If you fucking die on me girl, I will never rest until I find someone to bring you back just so I can kill you myself." She watched as his lips moved but his voice sounded muffled to her ears, a roaring sound occupying most of her hearing as she lifted a hand letting her fingers trail across his lips wiping some of the blood away, and watched his eyes change slowly. _

_It was like a wave along the beach, calm at first, then slowly growing violent, pushing everything else out of the way. She felt her heart clench as the emotion that finally settled on his handsome face was a look of immense grief._

"_You need to apply pressure to the wound, if you don't stop the bleeding she'll never have a chance." Kagome's eyes turned towards the voice of a woman, and saw her friend, covered in scratches and bruises, her hair loose from it's usual pony-tail and hanging limp around her shoulders. It was odd, to see such a strong warrior look so much like the frail woman she really was inside._

_Closing her eyes slowly she breathed in and out shallowly before her lungs stopped all together as a scream erupted from her, a pain unlike any other running through her from her right side. Her eyes shooting open she struggled against an unknown force pinning her hands to reach for the source of the pain as it grew in intensity. _

"_Hold her tighter damn it!" The slightly rough male voice barked out and Kagome turned her eyes to him, focusing on his as tears streaked down her face. "Shh, Kagome it's okay. Breath." His voice soothed and she felt the pain slowly ebb away, replaced by a numbness. She wanted to say his name, call out to him, but her mind went blank._

"_Kagome?" The woman's voice called out, distant now and in panic as the man's face before her slowly started to dull and fade right in front of her eyes. The roaring sound slowly grew quiet and she sighed softly, her eyes growing heavy. Soon it would be over._

"_Kagome!!" It was a scream, his, so sad, so desperate and she smiled slightly, wanting to tell him it was okay but couldn't find the words. As her eyes finally closed, the last thing she saw was tears gathering in his eyes and his mouth moving, yet without a sound. And the last thing she felt, before sinking into oblivion, was a single hot tear hitting her cheek and rolling down._

Kagome jerked as a drop of water splashed down onto her cheek and blinked rapidly to clear her blurred vision. She was laying in the shower, her navy blue shower curtain covering her naked body and protecting it from the now cold water streaming from the shower head. Slowly she brought her hand up to her cheek, wiping away the drop of water and took a steadying breath. A dream? Had she hit her head that hard? She shuddered, it had felt so real.

Slowly she sat up and reached for the water to turn it off, the curtain sliding down her chest and pooling in her lap. She glanced down at her right side to the ragged and fading scar along it and shivered involuntarily as she twisted the knobs. It was from a car accident, one that had left her in a coma in the hospital for two years. Ignoring the curtain and the rod for the moment she reached out and grabbed a towel and pushed herself up to standing, wrapping it securely around her.

Her hangover had disappeared, replaced by a headache the knot on the back of her head from the rod had caused and Kagome struggled to see which was better. With a slight shake of her head she walked into her bedroom, the memories from the dream already leaving her mind and walked to her dresser, pulling out a pair of underwear as well as a bra and threw it on her bed.

Running a hand through her wet hair as a temporary comb she walked out of her bedroom and through her small living room and into the kitchen opening the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. Tiling her head back, she took a long drink from it then glanced over at the answering machine where a red light blinked off and on in a steady pattern. Eyeing it suspiciously she eased closer to it.

"Just my luck...I probably got too friendly with that man last night and now he wants a second date." She muttered and hit the play button, jumping as a loud squeaking sound pierced the air and quickly fumbled for the stop button when a man started speaking.

"Well, last night was most certainly interesting Higurashi Kagome. Do you always pass out of your first date with a man, or was it you just felt comfortable with me?" Kagome felt her face flush slightly and at the same time her heart skipped a beat at the sound of his smooth voice and she leaned against the counter. "I would ask you for a second date, but I fear that I'll be brushed aside like I'm sure you've done to so many men so, as a precaution I stole your drivers license. Pick you up at eight tonight?" A resounding click man Kagome's eyes narrow in fury.

She chucked her water bottle across the kitchen and felt little satisfaction as it hit then wall with a thud and landed on the floor, slowly leaking its contents. It was just her fucking luck.

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Quotes: 'Tonight' from _Weiss Kreuz_

I changed some things around because I finally have a plot line! Let's get this party started!!

...Nuclotei


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I'm a horrible person, I know. My lack of updating is just sad, my lack of being able to keep a plot line straight is even worse. But while I continue to mull over the serious faults in Hakushin, I have practiced making story outlines and the result was surprisingly appealing. Now I wish I would have practiced these things more in high school when the teachers would tell me how helpful they are! So, without further ado, here is the next chapter of Angels and Demons. Enjoy a story with a decent plot!

Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns InuYasha and Co. I just screw them up to entertain fans.

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Chapter Two

Angels and Demons

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_All people should grow by being hurt, right?_

_Stand up if you fall, and if that doesn't work then I will hold you. _

_So it's okay..._

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She ignored the empty bottle laying on the kitchen floor. She danced around the puddle of water and kicked the cap out of her way with a heeled shoe and it shot under the refrigerator. Why should she care if there was a big giant wet spot on the kitchen floor? Why should she care that the empty bottle was laying there? Why should she care that some jack ass stole her license just so he could get another date?

Eyes narrowed Kagome stomped on the empty water bottle, the crunch briefly satisfying her need for violence. She had spent the remainder of her morning getting ready for work, fuming as she blew her hair dry, seething as she put on her makeup, and being pissed off enough that she ruined one pair of panty hose from tugging them up her leg too hard.

But now, right now she was fine, perfectly fine. It wasn't bothering her at all! Hell, it was just as easy to completely ignore the freak of a man who would dig through her purse while she was passed out and spend ten bucks to get a replacement license.

"Why would someone even do that?!" She smacked her hand on the counter and used her other to jerk open a drawer, grabbing a dish towel to wipe up the water. "Son of a bitch. Having the nerve to go into a woman's purse, stealing something then leaving a message like that! I should call the cops!" She snarled at the empty bottle and crouched down, dropping the towel onto the puddle and slowly wiped it up. "I'll call them up and tell them that Mister, Mister…" She paused.

What the hell was his name?

Standing straight she dropped the wet towel on the middle of the sink, her anger dissipating. She didn't even know the man's name who she had drinks with, let drive her home, put her in bed. She was lucky that all he took was her license.

Sighing softly Kagome leaned down, grabbing the bottle off of the floor and tossed it into the recycling bin under the sink then looked around. Where had the cap gone? Scowling she turned in a circle then looked down at the bottom of the fridge. The grate that covered the space between the bottom of the door and the floor was missing thanks to an accident while moving and she had yet to replace it.

With another sigh she shifted and bent down, slowly laying on the cool tile, muttering. "At least I know the floor is clean now." Pressing her cheek to the floor she smiled as she spotted the cap and reached out to grab it then froze, her throat tightening in horror. Beady black eyes stared unblinking at her out stretched hand, teeth bared and nose twitching madly. Kagome swallowed hard as she very slowly pulled her hand back away from the brown creature, a soft whimper escaping her as she pressed her palms to the floor, prepared to leap to her feet and grab a weapon.

"J-j-just stay there." She whispered as she slowly added pressure to the floor to move. Letting out a shaky breath she shifted and then the phone rang, shrilly piercing that air. "Jesus fucking Christ!" She screamed in terror as the rodent shot out towards her with a squeak then veered off to slide under the darkened cabinet edge.

Lunging to her feet and barely grabbing the long handled duster off of the top of the fridge, she made a mad leap onto the counter top between the sink and the stove, her three inch heels clacking loudly on the black granite surface.

"Get out of my kitchen!" She shrieked as she threw the duster as hard as she could at the small furry mouse that scrambled from one side of the kitchen to the other. Desperate to keep distance between them she stepped on the wet cloth, using it to hop to the other side of the sink as the mouse dove under the edge of the carpet.

Turning quickly to see where it went, her foot slipped out from under her and her breath caught in shock as she blindly reached out, grabbing onto the cabinet doors' knob. The cabinet swung open then cracked loudly as the knob snapped off.

"No!" She screamed as she fell backwards towards the tiled floor.

_She was falling, the root she had been clinging onto having snapped, sending her plunging towards the ground helplessly. She screamed, squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that she would die instantly on impact, not feeling any pain. _

"_Kagome!" A hard voice ripped through the sound of the wind rushing past her ears as a strong hand clamped down hard on her wrist, her body jerking to a quick and painful stop. _

_Opening her eyes with a gasp she looked up and into intense gold eyes staring down at her through white bangs. _

"_I've got you." His voice was confident, promising. Grateful tears filled her eyes as her lips move silently, mouthing his name. _

Kagome opened her eyes slowly, her heart beat pounding in the back of her head from the force of the impact.

The sound of rushing water slowly pulled her out of the fog of shock and the pain slowly set in.

Letting out a shaky breath she slowly pushed herself up, afraid to look at herself only to see a bone poking out of her leg, or seeing one of her feet twisted into an impossible angle. Reaching down she winced as her elbow protested and slowly moved her hand over her legs before looking at them.

They looked normal enough.

She shifted one, then the other and was happy to find they both were in working condition.

"I'll be damned if I'm not a lucky woman." Pushing herself up carefully, she ignored the pounding in her head and rubbed her already sore lower back. With the fall in the shower plus crashing onto the floor she'd be really lucky if the back of her head didn't look like it had a hair covered grapefruit sprouting from it; it was best to just imagine it being fine.

Mouse forgotten, Kagome moved to the knob-less cabinet and pushed the door open a bit more, pulling out a bottle of aspirin.

"How ironic. It was already opened for me." She mused to herself then winced as her head gave a rather painful throb.

Opening the bottle she turned the water off, which she must have kicked when she fell and moved to the fridge and grabbed a water bottle. Dumping nearly half of the contents of the pain pills into her mouth she took a long drink. She still had to go to work, she didn't have time to be sore.

Setting the bottles down Kagome walked out of the kitchen and grabbed her purse and keys off of the end table by the door, glancing down at her wrist.

No one had been there to catch her, it had just been another odd dream.

"I have really got to stop hitting my head." She muttered as she walked out, turning her thoughts to the day ahead.

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She sat slumped over in her chair, her chin resting in the palm of her hand, and her elbow resting on the plain black desk next to the standard black keyboard. People spoke softly into their headsets in the cubicles around her and she continued to stare at her computer screen, wondering if her phone was ever going to ring.

Being on second shift had it's advantages, like not having to wake up at the crack of dawn after spending a good part of the night at a bar, dancing with men and playing pool. A major disadvantage was that people didn't seem to want to call and complain much around lunch time, either being too busy stuffing their faces, or wanting to just relax after lunch, or not wanting to get into a conversation that could possibly stop them from going to lunch at the their designated time.

She slid her gaze to the clock in the lower right hand corner of the screen. It's was 6pm, lunch time was over.

"Oh but normal people have to eat dinner about now, right?" She sighed and stretched, wincing as her elbow cracked in protest. She shifted, looked at it then frowned at the purple bruise blooming happily there. "Would hate to see what my lower back and ass look like." She pushed back from her desk in her rolling chair and stood. It kept rolling and smashed into her cubical wall, then a crash sounded on the other side as one of her co-workers leaped to their feet in angry protest.

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" She felt her face flush a bit and she grabbed her purse, hurrying off to the elevator quickly.

Slipping between the doors before they closed she leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes as the dull music droned out of crackling speakers.

Her life was dull, it was empty and boring, just like the music that was playing; falsely upbeat.

As the doors opened she walked out and into a wide, open lobby, her heels clicking loudly as she walked towards the break room. If anything, a candy bar would help entertain her for her remaining three hours of work.

Kagome nodded to a woman sitting at a table, eating an interesting looking piece of chicken, or…something and she moved to the machine, tugging out her wallet and opening it. A piece of paper slipped out and floated to the floor, landing softly in front of her feet and she frowned. She didn't keep loose pieces of paper in her wallet for that very reason, they fell out.

Leaning down she picked it up and flipped it open as she stood straight, her brows furrowing as she read out loud.

" "Pick you up at 8pm sharp. Dress to impress. K. Taishou." " Her eyebrow twitched as she crunched the piece of paper in her hand. "At least I have part of your name now you little bastard." She looked at her watch, then turned, stuffing her wallet back into her purse as she walked out of the break room then out of the building; for this, she was willing to miss a few bucks off of her paycheck. If the thief wanted to be impressed, then she sure as hell was up for the challenge.

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She looked herself over in the mirror slowly, checking for flaws. The reflection that looked back at her was impressive to say the least. She had chosen carefully and decided to go with something that would be acceptable at an upscale restaurant, but would still have other woman looking away in envy or disgust because they wouldn't be able to pull it off.

She had curled her hair slightly and pulled it up into a slight fountain at the top of her head, allowing a few choice pieces to fall down and frame her face. Small, reflective, diamond drop earrings glittered from her lobes and her neck remained unadorned. The dress she wore was black, a bit tight to show off her curves and the front plunged down nearly to her navel, showing off the sides of her breasts slightly. The skirt of the dress was long, stopping at her ankles and slits on either side went up to her thighs. She grinned as she shifted, looking at her tanned leg and the straps from her black heeled peep-toe shoes that wrapped around her ankle. She had chosen a dark purple nail polish that glittered in the right light and was damn proud of the whole outfit.

"Let's see how long it takes for your pants to tighten with this look Mr. K. Taishou." She turned from the mirror, clasped on a loose, thin silver bracelet and sprayed a fine mist of raspberry perfume over herself as she walked out to the living room. "I even managed to do this with five minutes to spare."

Grabbing her purse she sat down gently on the couch and crossed her legs, flipping on the TV and relaxed.

Three hours later, that's how she slept.

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"Hey, Boss, you've been reading that old book for hours now. Don't you want to take a break to get down to business?" A man leaned against the wall, watching as long fingers slowly turned the page. "Boss?" He frowned then instantly straightened as black eyes slowly looked up from the page, pinning him with a silent stare. "Ah, okay then. I guess I'll just go until you call huh?" He said quickly then slipped out of the open door, closing it quickly behind him.

" "500 years ago there existed a jewel of great influence. It brought it's owner a solitary wish, or an immeasurable amount of power." " He looked back at the book then chuckled softly. "The Shikon no Tama huh? Did I finally find the legend I have been searching for for years?" He smiled slowly as he closed the book carefully. "You _will_ be mine."

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Quotes: 'Dame!' from_ Rurouni Kenshin_

A/N: I think this is going to be harder to write that I thought, **let me know how you all like it so far!** I know it's a slow start, but it'll be worth it, trust me!

...Nuclotei


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** You all are lazy! Lazy, lazy, lazy! I see that you're looking at this story, that you're reading on past the first chapter and yet you can't take a moment to review? **I write for the people that read and enjoy, if you read and enjoy this, then review.** Even if I get just one review a chapter at least I know I'm touching the interest of someone. So, _**please**_ review or I'll stop writing because there is no point to it unless someone is going to read this and enjoy themselves. Thank you!

Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns InuYasha and Co. I just screw them up to entertain fans.

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Chapter Three

Angels and Demons

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_I haven't even lived half of my life;_

_rebelling against, and embracing others -_

_These experiences are being tattooed onto my subconscious._

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He stood in the shower, his head bowed as the hot water pelted him, beating life back into him. It had been a rough night, it had been a grisly murder, and he had yet to sleep.

Often times Kaze Taishou wondered why he went to work everyday, why he put himself through such crime scenes, why he continued to chase down the bad guy when the end result wouldn't really change. For the murder victim it was too late, there wasn't a take back, there wasn't closure, they would still remain lifeless, buried in some dark and suffocating casket while their body rotted away. They wouldn't know if he solved the case or not, they wouldn't care.

He tilted his head back, let the burning water sting his face and rolled his shoulders to ease the tension.

It had been a damn rough night.

Turning off the water he stepped out of the shower, grabbing the towel and scrubbed it over his face then hair. He moved to the mirror, using his hand to wipe away the fog and looked at himself. Violet eyes stared back, tired and hard and his hair clung to him. The Captain had been on his ass for months about cutting his hair, but he was too fond of it and the long style looked good on him. Shaking his head he moved into his room, drying himself off.

His room, his apartment was plain, barely looking lived in with the exception of his dirty clothes piling up in the corner behind his door, and the slept in bed. He had a dresser to put his clothes in and a bedside table to hold his phone charger and his alarm clock. It wasn't a home as much as a place to come and sleep because he wasn't allowed to sleep at the station anymore.

He moved to his dresser, pulling on boxers an jeans then a black wife beater, his harness and a red button down which his left open. Pulling his still wet hair back, he secured it with a pony tail holder and scowled at his coffee maker. It was half full; how long had it been since he made coffee?

Shrugging he turned the machine on to warm up the sludge and opened his fridge, leaning to look at the contents. Beer and old Chinese peered out at him and he scowled.

"I'm such a cop." Grabbing a mug he moved back to the coffee pot, irritated that it hadn't even begun to warm up it's contents and poured some out anyway, putting the mug into the microwave.

Glancing at his simple kitchen table, Kaze looked at the files that were spread open, knew the contents by heart and closed his eyes.

There had been so much blood. The man's body had been ripped open from stomach to neck in a jagged line, done by a sharp blade, approximately six inches long. It had been a brutal death, and he was sure the victim had suffered greatly. But it didn't bother him.

The blood, the fucking gore never even turned his stomach as a rookie. He had been deemed "unshakeable" by his partner.

She was dead now.

_That_ shook him. It shook him hard, right to the core and left him aching and bitter.

He pulled the mug out of the microwave and grabbed the box of old Chinese from the fridge. He moved to the table, sat and read the report again.

He would read it over and over, he would solve this murder like he had so many others just so he could continue to work on _her_ case. A cold case, a case that he would never give up on.

Taking a drink from his mug he flipped open the take out box and got to work.

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Kagome sat on a chair at the kitchen table and yanked another one in front of her so she could tie her sneakers. She couldn't remember the last time she woke up in such a horrible mood, and all because of the thief-standing her up-douche bag who she only knew by last name.

"Just forget about him." She snapped at herself as she stood, pulling her hair up into a pony tail and grabbed her house keys, moving outside.

It was an absolutely beautiful morning, a perfect morning for a run; and running was just what she needed. Moving to the side walk she stretched slowly, mindful of her sore body parts but absolutely refusing to let them interfere with her normal routine.

Waving a bit at a friendly neighbor she smiled, feeling better already and started her jog, heading towards the park nearest to her house.

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Kaze moved along the side walk, hands stuffed in his pockets and breathed in deeply. He needed to clear his head, step back, try and take a different look at the same facts. There was something he was missing.

"Sleep." He muttered then shook his head. Who needed it? He had gone through tons of cases on less sleep than he had now. He was missing something else…

Pausing he furrowed his brows. He had forgotten something.

"The hell?" Shifting he turned around, heading back to his apartment to look over the file again; and then it hit him.

The collision had him stumbling back, had him wrapping his arms around the thing that had just knocked the breath from him, then had him looking down in shock.

"Kagome…" He breathed as the woman looked up at him, shock registering in her own face followed by a look that he could only guess to be fury. "Oh, hell."

"You!" She all but snarled, her brown eyes spitting fire at him so directly he wondered why he hadn't burst into flames.

She shifted and the feeling of her in his arms created a rush of euphoria so sudden and direct that he just grinned at her, letting her go. He felt like he just got the sleep he needed just by seeing her angry face.

"You-you thief!" She shoved him and he didn't move, enjoying seeing the irritation and anger on her face grow.

"Me?" He grinned again and Kagome felt her heart stutter in her chest.

Goddamn he was good looking.

She balled her hand into a fist and swung out. Kaze grunted as she caught him right across the cheek and stumbled to the side, surprised.

"Give me back my drivers license you bastard!" Her entire arm vibrated with the hit, making her elbow ache and she felt satisfaction roll through her as he pressed a hand to his cheek and stood straight.

He watched her for a moment to decide which direction to take and decided he'd take the low road all the way.

"Do you always go around decking cops?" He watched the question register, watch the color drain out of her face then come back quickly in the form of red.

"You, you're a cop?" Kagome felt her throat tighten a bit as scenarios of going to jail flashed through her mind's eye.

"A homicide Detective to be exact." He dropped his hand and moved to her so that they were toe to toe. "Do you want to go to jail for assaulting a Detective?" Kagome opened her mouth, closed it then took a deep breath and opened it again.

"Can you please just give me back my license and we can forget this whole thing?" It killed her to be polite, but she'd rather be dead in the park, a knife through her ego than dead in some jail cell with a butch bitch from Block A with a knife through her gut. Kaze watched her, felt the strong pull of attraction that had had him walking over to her in the bar and smiled slowly.

"Dinner, you owe me a night out." Kagome watched him for a moment then pulled back her foot and kicked him hard in the shin.

"You stood me up!" She shoved him over as he hopped on one foot and watched him fall and roll in the grass. "Forget the damn license. I'll just buy a replacement!" She snapped and turned, jogging away.

Kaze watched her go then laughed and relaxed in the grass. It was as good of a place as any to take a nap, and he was positive that he'd be seeing that interesting woman again.

x

xXx

x

Kagome walked out of the elevator and towards her cubical, glancing around as a hush fell over the floor.

She paused, shrugged a shoulder then started walking again, only to have a hand clamp down on her upper arm. With a startled yelp she turned and looked down slightly at her boss.

"Mr. Giles…" He watched her over his slightly dirty glassed, his round face a bit red and his eyebrows pulled together.

"Ms. Higurashi, whatever trouble you're in I would greatly appreciate if you refrained from bringing it to work with you. It is a distraction to other employees and reflects poorly on this company and on you." His voice whispered quickly and harshly in her ear before he let her go and stepped away. Blinking owlishly and extremely confused, Kagome watched him waddle away.

"What the hell…?" Shaking it off she moved to her cubical, letting the strap of her purse slide down off of her shoulder where she caught it in her hand then froze.

Long jean covered legs stretched from their place on the corner of her desk to the edge of a black wife beater, partially covered by a shiny gold badge. A gun harness was slightly hidden by a long sleeved red shirt and the grin on the face of the man sitting in her chair made her blood boil in her veins.

"You're stalking me. This is harassment." Her voice was calm, more calm that she thought it would be.

He lifted a hand, holding up her license between his fingers.

"It's amazing what you can find out about a person when you know their name and address Higurashi Kagome."

She leaned to take the card from him and he tilted his hand away from her quickly so she only grabbed at thin air.

"You don't act much like a cop. I suppose you don't need to though, or have manners for that matter when all you deal with is dead bodies." She snapped and he shifted, standing up so that she was forced back between the desk and himself. Kagome glanced back as her butt bumped against the edge of the desk.

"What an interesting woman..." His voice was low and he took a step towards her so that his chest brushed against hers and she sat to break the contact. "Have dinner with me." His voice sent a shiver down her spine and she jutted out her chin in a show of stubbornness.

"You stood me up." There wasn't as much venom in her voice as she would have liked and she cursed him for smelling so damn delicious; it was clouding her brain.

'Does she remember?' He wondered then stepped between her legs so that they were pressed together in a rather intimate position.

Kagome's breath caught as the sounds from the bar filled her head. Low throbbing music, the riotous laughter of a group of men in the corner, and his low voice whispering in her ear as they talked. She shivered as she remembered the feel of his hands slipping under and up the sides of her shirt, slightly rough fingers brushing gently over her skin to pull her closer as they danced. Kaze watched her face.

Oh yeah. She remembered.

"I apologize." His voice was sincere as he watched her still. "I had a surprise meeting with a dead body." He said it with good humor, concealing the hardness and the anger that came with the statement that had nothing to do with the woman in front of him. "Give me one more chance?"

Kagome wondered why her chest suddenly felt tight as she nodded slowly. "One more chance."

He smiled, stepped back and slipped her license back into his pocket, unseen by her.

"I'll let you get to work then. You get off at nine right?" She nodded mutely and watched him. "See you then." He gave her a charming grin and she watched him walk off, slowly letting out the breath she hadn't noticed she was holding.

"See you then…" She echoed softly.

x

xXx

x

"Mama."

"Oh Kagome! I was just thinking about you!" Kagome smiled at the enthusiasm in her mothers voice and was sorry that she would cause it to fade. "I just got back from the store and I got the ingredients to make your favorite pot roast for tonight." She gushed.

Kagome hesitated. "Mama, about that…" She heard the rustling of grocery bags still in the background.

"You're not coming tonight?" Kagome flinched at the disappointment in her mothers voice and pinched the bridge of her nose, shifting her cell phone.

Three times a week she would drive the twenty minutes to the other side of the city and spend a late evening with her mother.

Once a week she would bring half of her pay check with her.

"I'm sorry it's such late notice, I was just invited to dinner and…" She didn't get the sentence out of her mouth before her Mom let out an excited gasp.

"You have a date? What's his name? Where did you meet him? Does he want children?" Mrs. Higurashi couldn't remember the last time her daughter actually went on a date with a man. "You'll come by tomorrow and tell me all the details won't you? I love you, be safe darling!" Kagome looked at the phone as her Mom hung up and couldn't help but laugh. Slipping her phone back into her purse she grabbed her work headset and pulled it on, shaking her mouse to clear the "Go team!" screensaver away.

Logging back onto her computer she paused as she pulled up her work screen.

What _was_ his name?

x

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x

"Kaze…" Kaze continued to type up his report, ignoring the voice. His lip was split, his head was ringing from the gun going off right next to his ear and his ear buds from his Ipod were doing very little to funnel the music in and filter the noise of the station out.

"Kaze. Hey. Hey…Kaze Taishou!" He ignored the nagging voice still and continued to type, his irritation growing.

"_InuYasha_ Taishou!!" The voice yelled loudly and laughter broke out in the bullpen as he closed his eyes and counted to five mentally.

He wouldn't kill his best friend…but he sure as hell would bust his nose.

Yanking out the head phones he stood and turned with a snarl on his face. "Any of you fuckers got a problem with what my dear, sweet mother named me?!" Heads turned away from him quickly and the laughing stopped instantly as a few people raised their hands in surrender.

"You are so touchy." He brushed off the hand that clasped onto his shoulder with an angry noise.

"What the fuck is a suit like you doing in my bullpen anyway?" He turned to look at his childhood friend.

"Yash, I'm hurt." Kaze barred his teeth and slapped the man upside of the head sharply.

"Miroku, goddamn it, I told you not to call me that here!" Miroku flinched and rubbed the side of his brown hair covered head and grinned.

"You're the one defending your name here, and yet there you stand, telling me not to call you by it." He took a step back as Kaze swung out at him and straightened his purple tie.

"You don't understand. You're parents didn't give you such a weird name!" He huffed as Miroku dusted lightly at his black blazer.

"Hey buddy, you don't have to bitch to me. I grew up with you, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah. I remember. Now what do you want? I'm busy." Kaze snapped as he sat back down in his chair, clicking the save button on his word processor before it decided to eat his report.

"I just got off of work. Thought I'd be bitched out by you because I was running late, but here you are completely forgetting about out plans."

Kaze grunted as he started typing. "Plans?"

"Drinks, football, bar? Hot chicks with big boobs and thin shirts?" Miroku made a groping motion towards his own chest and Kaze continued to type.

"Can't."

"What do you mean you can't? It looks like to me you're nearly done with whatever you're typing at the speed of a snail and I promise, all you have to do is pick up your shirt and put it on and I'll even drive us to the bar."

Kaze paused and looked at him. "What bar?"

Miroku stared for a whole five seconds before scowling. "Beer. Boobs. Football."

"Oh." Kaze started typing again. "I can't."

"…why not?"

"I have a date." He missed the look of shock cross his friends face and he lifted a hand, rubbing the back of his neck. "How do you spell 'apprehended'? "

"What do you mean you have a date?"

"It's those things that you have all of the time, that end with sex. Only, I know how to wear a condom."

"I know how to wear a condom damn it! Who do you have a date with?" Miroku grabbed his tie, loosening it with a single jerk as Kaze fished in his pocket, pulling out the license and handed it to him. "Kagome Higurashi." Miroku squinted at the picture. "Hey, you know, she looks like…" He started then paused as Kaze turned to look at him.

"She doesn't. They're nothing alike." Miroku handed the license back then held up his hands.

"No, no. You're right. Nothing alike." He shifted, watched the look on Kaze's face go from bad to worse. "Well InuYasha. I think I'm going to head out to the titty bar then. Since you have a…date…" He cleared his throat as Kaze continued to stare then waved a hand, walking out to the front door.

"I can't believe he's going out with a woman." Miroku muttered as he walked out.

x

xXx

x

"Here you go Boss, a list of all of the shrines in Tokyo. It's rather long. And speaking of shrines, I didn't realize you were such a religious man. Kind of funny when you think about it." The man with the braided hair paused as the cold stare his boss gave him didn't waver. "You know…considering what you do for a living and all…" He trailed off.

"Your services are no longer needed." The man stood up from his desk slowly as the man with the braid backed quickly to the door.

"I'm sorry to bother you with such things Boss, honestly I am! It was just some stupid…no wait!" He yelled as a gun went off, the bullet passing through his open mouth, exploding the back of his head over the closed door.

The man leaned, pushing a button on his phone.

"Dispose of him." He said as he sat slowly, shuffling through the papers and clicked the button off. "Where are you hiding, my Shikon no Tama?"

* * *

Quotes: 'Hemisphere' from _RahXephon_

A/N: What do you think? Getting more interesting? **Feedback if you please!!**

…Nuclotei


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you KiwiClover, you have renewed my faith in the writing world and have made this fun once again! That is all.

Oh. P.S. I'll say this story has some OOC in it, but that should be a given considering they're in adult hood and in a different setting. It will all be explained! Maybe… ^^

P.P.S. **Give me reviews please!!!**

Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns InuYasha and Co. I just screw them up to entertain fans.

* * *

Chapter Four

Angels and Demons

X

xx

X

_The sands of time are being counted, and what more do I know?_

_In the middle of a false dream, the words were lost..._

X

xx

X

"_What? Are you kidding me? No way Miko, I'm not wearing that!" He backed away from her, hands raised in defense in front of him as he edged his way around to the front of the couch._

"_Kaze, come on! If you're going to meet my family you're going to have to drop the badge and beat up clothes for a smarter look!" She took a threatening step toward him, brown eyes flashing and long black hair swaying gently from a ponytail holder fastened at the bottom of her hair line. _

"_I'm a cop! I can't just drop the badge, I am the badge!" He yelped as she lunged for him then he grunted with a laugh as they went sprawling onto the couch. _

_She shifted, the clothes left laying forgotten on the floor and closed the gap between their lips with a flirty smile._

_His heart stuttered in his chest. _

Kaze shifted slightly as a phone rang, his brows furrowing.

"_I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you!" He roared into the phone as his voice cracked from sheer volume. Screams pierced the air coming from the speaker of the cell phone he held in his hand that shook, knuckles white. _

"_K-Kaze…" She mumbled out his name, the sound of it sounding garbled as she choked on her own blood. _

_As she screamed again his throat restricted until he himself felt choked, his lungs burning from lack of air. He sobbed breathlessly as the final gun shot went off and the line went dead. _

Kaze opened his eyes slowly, the sounds of the bull pen around him barely breaking through the fog the nightmare left behind in his head.

If only…

Heart pounding hard from the memory he shifted, lifting his head and looked at his computer screen. The marquee scrolling across it blinked on and off in bright pink letters. _Wakey, wakey, InuuuYaaasha! _He blinked once, twice, then leapt to his feet.

"I'm going to strangle whoever did this!" He shouted then glared as the bullpen erupted in howling laughter.

"Go sleep at home Taishou!" One of the guys shouted over the roar of laughter and heckling and Kaze grabbed his over shirt with a grumble.

"Yeah, yeah." Glancing at his watch he moved to the door, shoving a hand through his hair then froze, looking at it again quickly.

"9:24?! Fuck!"

x

xXx

x

She scrubbed the sink as steam filled her kitchen. The soothing sound of the water turned on full blast did nothing to soothe the fury inside of her. She had been stood up. Twice!

The kitchen was spotless, it had been spotless thirty minutes ago. When 9:10 had rolled around she had known he wasn't going to show up.

"Bastard!" She hissed as she slammed the arm on the faucet, turning off the rush of water as she shoved a hand through her loose curling hair.

She looked over at the clock, something she had been doing every five minutes. 9:43 glared out at her in bright green numbering.

"Well, hell." She sighed, her anger deflating as her stomach growled in hunger.

Kagome pushed her hands through her hair again, and grabbed the phone off the charger.

Another night, another box of Chinese food to be devoured.

She moved to the fridge looking at a red and white menu and clicked the phone on. Half way dialing the number she paused and looked towards the door as the bell sounded.

"The Chinese restaurant read my mind." She joked as she turned off the phone and set it down, moving to the door.

Kaze's breath caught as the door swung open, she hadn't locked it. As he looked her over, light blue halter top, tight black jeans and the flush of color on her cheeks framed by her soft black hair, his mind went blank. His explanation dissolved.

"Uh, hi." He waved a hand slightly feeling more than lame and he watched one of her delicate eyebrows arch as she took in his appearance.

Same shirt, same pants, added with blood stain and the look of fresh bruises and a cut.

"You look horrible." She commented idly.

"Ah…about that." Kagome shook her head, shifted, and he more than expected the door to slam in his face. Instead she reached out, her fingers brushing very gently against his bruised cheek.

Her skin was smooth and he breathed out slowly, surprise registering in his eyes.

"Come on." She turned and moved to a hallway, disappearing around the corner.

He looked after her for a moment, watched until she was out of sight then shivered.

There was something…

Shaking his head Kaze stepped over the threshold and closed the door.

"Have a seat at the kitchen table!" She called from somewhere in the other half of the apartment and he looked around, tucking his hands into his pockets.

Having been there before he already knew she was raised by her mother and grandfather and had a younger brother from the picture resting on the fireplace mantle. From checking up on her he knew that her grandfather was dead, that her mother lived alone in a large shrine on the other side of town and that her brother had gone to the states for college.

The apartment was small, and he never would have guessed she was a fan of bright colors by the woman he met in the bar. He would have pegged her for black, dark blue. Moving to the kitchen table he found himself having fond feelings for her red kitchen once again. He was rather fond of red himself.

Looking down at his dirty red over shirt he blanched as he sat

"Should have changed." He muttered then looked up through his bangs at Kagome as she moved back into the room, carrying a first aid kit.

She set the box down on the table, pulling one of the other chairs in front of him and sat silently, opening the box. She dug through it a bit and he noted water droplets left on her wrists from her washing her hands and smiled.

He rolled in the dirt and blood, did she think that whatever she had on her hands could be any worse?

His eyes crossed as she held up an alcohol pad to his forehead and gently cleaned off a shallow scrape. He resisted the urge to let out a hiss of pain.

"So…" Kagome worked gently; it was so odd, she thought. The cut on his lip, the slight purplish bruising of his cheek where someone's fist had connected with his flesh, the scrapes and dirt seemed to fit him perfectly. "Do you always show up on first dates looking like a boy who got into a fight after school?" He closed his eyes, and her eyes flicked to his lips as a faint smile crossed them.

"You should see how I look for the second." He parted his lips slightly, and this time he did hiss out a breath as she gently cleaned the cut on his lower lip.

"Oh don't be such a big baby, you'll heal up in no time." She smiled as he opened one eye and half glared at her.

"It doesn't feel good you know!" She shifted, grinned.

"Shall I kiss it better?" She teased then her heart seemed to freeze in her chest by the quick look of need in his eyes that was gone as soon as it came.

"Yes, please." He grinned widely then winced as the cut stung in protest to the movement.

"What's your name?" He shifted, blinked then looked confused.

"My name…?" Kagome nodded as she watched his face.

"I mean, I guess I could just call you Detective Taishou for the remainder of our time together, but seeing as how I think you want to date, that could be a bit awkward."

Kaze blinked again then laughed.

"I'm Kaze, Kaze Taishou." Kagome's brow rose.

"How do you write that?"

"With the character for wind, of course." Kagome shook her head and laughed.

"What an odd name."

"Hey! It's not as bad as Kagome! You're named after a child's game." He grinned as she scowled at him, ignoring his statement.

She stood and picked up the wrappers, moving to the kitchen and grabbed the wall as dizziness and nausea swamped her.

"Well, I guess I'll order us some Chinese food since no respectable place would accept a ragamuffin like you." She cleared her throat, shaking her head a bit to get rid of the feeling and tossed the wrappers into the trash and turned to look at him then gasped, startled as he stood nearly in front of her.

"Actually, there is a place I want to take you." He watched a look of suspicion cross her face and he wrapped a hand around her waist, pulling her to the door with a smile. "Do you like hamburgers?"

"American hamburgers?" She moved with him, without a choice, and not much wanting to fight against an injured man.

"Mmhmm." He lead her out, made sure to lock the door behind him and pulled her to the parking lot.

"As long as they are chocolate milkshakes." He looked at her as he stopped next to a street bike.

"There could be hamburgers without chocolate milkshakes." He grinned then let her go, grabbing a helmet and strapped it on.

Kagome stood, watching him and crossed her arms.

"You have to be crazy if you think I'm getting on the back of that thing with you." He swung a leg over and looked at her.

"Why not?"

"Because! It's dangerous and fast, and dangerous!" Kaze shook his head, shifted and held out a hand to her.

"I won't let you fall." Kagome looked at him through the wind shield then at his hand. "Trust me." He watched her, his voice confident and she felt a blush start at the base of her spine as she took his hand.

_Trust me…_

x

xXx

x

She pressed firmly against his back as the wind rushed past them, the sound of it dampened by the helmet over her head. Her arms were wrapped around his waist, hand clamped tightly together in front of him as he weaved in and out of traffic.

Kagome was glad she had decided again the dress and had opted for the more simple style of her jeans and halter top, otherwise she'd have been flashing the world.

Kagome tilted her head to look around his shoulder. Lights, cars, and buildings flew past them in distorted blurs. She felt like they were leaving the whole world behind them.

She felt free.

"_It's like you fly…" She breathed out as her stomach tingled in excitement, the tree tops a ways below them._

_She had never felt so free._

_Tightening her arms around his neck she pressed her cheek against the back of his silver haired head and closed her eyes, relaxing. She knew that he would never let her fall._

Her eyes opened as her breath caught in her chest, Kaze's warm fingers brushing down against her clasped hands lightly.

Had she fallen asleep?

"How're you holding up?" Kaze turned his head, peering at her through the shield on his helmet.

Kagome shifted, noticed that had stopped at a red light then smiled reassuringly at him.

"Well, I could live with having to ride one of these." He watched her face for a moment, brushed off the feeling that something was wrong and grinned.

"Maybe I'll teach you then." He took off as the light turned green and she yelped then laughed, tightening her hold on him.

x

xXx

x

"_I want to stay by your side." She whispered softly, gently moving her fingers over his face. _

_His head rested in her lap, pale skin marred with dark bruises and cuts, his eyes closed and shielded by his silver bangs._

"_There isn't anything in this world, in your world or mine I wouldn't do for you." She continued to brush her fingers gently, soothingly down to his neck as his face blurred then cleared, a tear dropping down onto his cheek. _

" '_gome…" He whispered softly and she gasped, moving a hand to wipe the tears from her face quickly. Stilling, her eyes widened a bit as his hand got there first, cupping her cheek gently and wiping away a tear with his clawed thumb._

"Being a cop is like being a teacher. You get to lecture, show off your knowledge and have the added bonus of carrying a gun and getting to punch people in the face." He grinned then waved a hand. "Anyway, that's enough about my job, why don't you tell me what you do for a living? From what I saw it looked like really exciting stuff." He joked.

Kagome blinked slowly as the world seemed to fade in and out of perspective. They were sitting in a diner just like she had seen in an old American movie, from the…seventies? She shifted in the booth, grabbed the edge of the table as nausea swamped her and closed her eyes. Hadn't they just been riding down the road on his motorcycle?

"Kagome…?"

"_Kagome, we should wait for him!" Kagome slipped her arms through the top of a red kimono and tied it tightly around her waist with shaking hands._

"_He can't fight now, he's hurt!" Kagome shouted over a low roar and looked over at a taller woman with long brown hair pulled up into a ponytail. "It's just one demon. We can handle this!" Kagome yelled to her as the roar grew then shielded her eyes quickly, the ground on the other side of the hill exploding. _

_She blinked rapidly to clear the spots from her vision then leaned, grabbing her bow and quiver of arrows off of the ground. She would protect him this time. Glancing down at the red sleeves covering her arms she prayed it would be enough as she took a deep breath and ran to the edge of the hill and jumped. _

It was hot.

The air around her was thick, thick and wet.

She shifted as something pressed down hard on her chest, felt her lungs protest the lack of allowed movement and lifted a hand to push the offending object away.

"Do you always pass out on every date you go on, or is it just because you're so comfortable with me?" A hand grabbed hers gently and the pressure was gone from her chest. Her eyelids felt heavy, too heavy to lift and then the tentacle slapped her in the face.

"What the fuck…?" She muttered and moved her other hand, grabbing the slimy creature and pulled it away, opening her eyes to stare at it.

The offending washcloth stared back.

A hand reached out and took it, pressing it back to her forehead. It was cool enough to make her shiver and she tilted her head, looking at Kaze.

"What happened?" She slurred then furrowed her brows as a soft beeping slowly grew louder. Was she hearing things too?

"Well, I thought we were having a nice conversation about jobs and hamburgers and the next thing I knew you were falling out of the booth. If I could put every body to sleep as fast as I did you, I could make a killing with stealing wallets." She lifted her other hand, looking at an IV sticking out of the crook of her elbow and groaned. "Then again, it could have been the fact that you have a rather serious concussion…" He looked thoughtful then stood. "I'll get your doctor."

She watched him move out and looked up at the ceiling then went rigid as it turned dark and rocky. A cave with dripping water.

"Ms. Higurashi?" She jumped, startled, and blinked at the white ceiling above her then slowly moved her head, looking at a short, balding doctor. "I'm Dr. Takahashi. How are you feeling?"

Kagome shifted then reached up and pushed a hand through her hair. "Kind of like I've been run over by a bus." She watched Dr. Takahashi scribble down something on a clip board then check her vitals.

"Having any strange feelings? Dreams? Hallucinations?" He looked back at her face and she opened her mouth then closed it, with a strange look. "Ms. Higurashi? This is an important question, you must have hit your head very hard, you have quite a bit of brain swelling. Quite frankly, I'm surprised you remained conscious at all."

Kagome furrowed her brows, touched the lump on the back of her head and frowned. "Stange dreams. That's…that happened to me when I fell and got knocked out I guess. Then later when I was with Kaze, I don't remember getting to the restaurant, I just remember these really, really odd dreams." The doctor nodded a bit, scribbled something else.

"Those should pass as your brain stops swelling, you're really a lucky girl."

"So I've been told."

"I'm going to have to keep you overnight for observation at the least."

She stared at the doctor in disbelief and knew the color had instantly drained from her face at his words.

"Overnight?" Her voice felt thick and suddenly the room seemed too confining.

Kaze's eyes flicked to the heart monitor as her heart beat skipped then jumped into a panicked rhythm.

"We really do need to keep you for observation, the type of head trauma you've experienced is a rather big deal. If we let you go and something happens, we'd be held responsible." Kagome shook her head as the doctor spoke.

"No, no, no. I'll sign a release form, I'll sign anything. I can't stay here."

"Ms. Higurashi…" The doctor hesitated.

"I'll stay with her."

Kagome looked at him quickly and the doctor shifted as he watched Kagome's face silently and hopefully.

"It's important that you stay, if you don't want to be alone here then I'll stay here with you." He smiled at her reassuringly and Kagome nodded slowly, defeated.

"O-okay."

"Well then, it's settled. I'll get you a blanket and pillow brought in. And I'll be back to check on you in the morning." He turned and walked out, briefly patting Kaze on the shoulder and closed the door gently behind him.

Kagome watched Kaze silently for a moment then looked down a the bed covers.

"Ah, well. Hospitals suck, so I won't let you face this battle on your own."

"Why are you so nice to me?" She asked softly and Kaze tilted his head to the side then shrugged.

"I'm hoping to get laid." She looked at him again quickly, saw his heart stopping grin and laughed.

x

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x

"So why do you hate hospitals?" Kagome bit into the grape flavored popsicle and a bit of juice ran down her chin. Kaze shifted, laying next to her on top of the covers and brushed his thumb along the line of purple before sticking it in his mouth, licking it clean and shrugged.

"Doesn't everyone?" She flushed then shrugged back at him.

"Most people who hate hospitals hate them for a reason."

"Hm…" He watched her take another bite and resisted tasting her lips to see how good that popsicle really was; how good she tasted. "That's a good point. Why do you hate hospitals?"

She paused then raised her hand to push through her hair. A nervous or irritated habit, he noted and caught her hand in his own right before she tugged the IV out of her arm.

"You don't have to answer that if you don't want to." He brushed his thumb over the back of her hand gently.

The heart monitor beeped as her heart stuttered in her chest.

'Traitor." She mentally grumbled and he didn't' seem to notice the beep. Sitting still for a moment she looked back down at the bed covers, and ate the rest of the popsicle, setting the stick to the side. Shrugging again she grabbed a loose thread and played with it a bit.

"Well," Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat, embarrassed.

Kaze watched her, watched the embarrassment come and go and a look of dull pain settled on her beautiful face.

He regretted asking.

"In my second to last year of middle school I was in a car crash that I don't remember." He made a soft noise and shifted, putting his arm around her shoulders. "Mama says it was really bad." She hesitated then shrugged a should gently. "I suppose the worst part of it was that two years later I woke up from a coma and had missed two entire years of my life." Kaze felt his blood run cold and he struggled to shake the feeling of dread off.

"You were in a coma…?" It was more of a faint statement than a question.

"I know, weird right? I only have a few scars to show from the accident to begin with. It's strange, sleeping for two years…" She trailed off, shook her head. "Anyway, that's why I hate hospitals. " Kaze sat silently for a moment then leaned his head back against the pillow and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

Kagome looked at him.

"Well, long story short. When I was seven my mother got sick. She went into the hospital and we visited her everyday. A year later my old man stopped wanting to visit, but I still wanted to see my Mom. So I decided to run away from home. I managed to grab enough change to take the train an hour away to the hospital and I hid in her room with her while she slept. Of course he found me a few hours later, he was livid. Mom woke up, confused, she couldn't figure out why her husband was screaming while her child was screaming and crying and begging her to be allowed to stay so when I tried to fight against my old man it put too much stress on her and she had heart failure and died right there, in front of both of us." Kagome stared at his calm face, her throat tightening with tears.

"My father blamed me for her death, I blamed me for her death and there you go. That's why I hate hospitals." His voice remained calm, but she saw the muscle in his jaw jump as he briefly clenched his teeth then sighed heavily and opened his eyes. "Not the greatest story in the world." He shifted, looking at her then froze.

"Jesus…Kagome. Don't cry!" Panic flooded him and he sat straight taking her shoulders in his hands. "It was a long time ago. It doesn't matter now." His own throat tightened as he watched the silent tears run down her cheeks.

She was crying for him.

Kagome shifted then wrapped her arms around him, hugging herself to his chest and tangled her fingers in the back of his shirt.

Kaze stared at the white wash wall as his heart beat hard in his chest.

"_Oh Kaze, everyone has their own sad little stories, don't they? What's the point in bringing up the past? Your mother is dead whether you caused it or not; it's irrelevant now."_

"I'm sorry." Kagome whispered softly in his ear and he slowly wrapped his arms back around her, and closed his eyes.

What was it about this woman?

* * *

Quotes: 'Getsumei Fuuei' from _Juuni Kokki_

A/N: Okay! I had to make a rather big decision on this chapter, I had quite a bit more to add to it, but I think that it would make it so much longer than the other chapters and filling in so much information of the story line that it might be hard to take in! So, Chapter 4 is going to be split up. I'll have the connections still run smoothly as possible between the chapters, but it's likely that the next chapter will be rather short as well as not being as loaded as this chapter is. Hope that's okay with everyone! I didn't want to have like…seven page chapters, then all of a sudden like a random 15 page one!

…Nuclotei

**Thanks**

**KiwiClover**-You're an amazing reviewer, made me feel so much better about writing! I hope you continue to like the story!

**GrlWthThrnNHrSd**-Thanks! I'll try not to make things sound so rushed, I've always had a problem with run on sentences as you can see. Thanks for the support!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Well I've actually had this thing planned out for a bit, but a sudden bout of writers block was kicking my ass so it's a bit delayed! Alas, here it is, I hope it's still up to a good standard for you all! Sorry for the nearly a month wait, but it could have been worse. I will try to get a chapter out at least every other week, but as summer comes and I'm working more that'll get a bit difficult. I'll make it up to you guys though!

_**Please, PLEASE review!**_ T___T For me! Since I'm doing all of the work here!

Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns InuYasha and Co. I just screw them up to entertain fans.

* * *

Chapter Five

Angels and Demons

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_It sways and sways, trembling,_

_Into the unending sky above_

_It crosses time, it comes and goes_

_Into this faint world…_

X

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X

_She opened her eyes slowly as her hair drifted in front of her face, small orbs of light caught in the black strands as she floated. She let her head tilt back, watched as the wooden ceiling above her drifted away, swallowed by darkness. What was happening? _

"_Priestess…" The voice hissed around her as light flooded up from below her feet. She looked down as a smooth surface broke through the blue light, as green vines faded into focus around her, trailing down stone walls. _

"_Where am I?" Her voice seemed to echo, leaving a cold chill down her spine and she shuddered as she tilted forward, her hands pressing down against the smooth, cool surface. Birds twittered happily somewhere above her and Kagome leaned back on her knees, looking up into the cloudless blue sky. _

"_Priestess, come to me…" Kagome furrowed her brows as she stood slowly, reaching out and closed her fingers around a vine. He was calling. _

_She climbed up the stone tunnel, it was easier than she expected and as her hand closed over a rotting piece of wood she turned and looked down into the darkness. _

"_An old well?" Her voice seemed to echo again and Kagome pulled herself out, and stood, the tall grass tickling her thighs. She looked down, saw the green skirt of her middle school uniform and furrowed her brows._

"_I'm waiting for you…" Turning she looked into the woods and followed the whispering voice on the wind. Her hands brushes the leaves of the trees as she walked, then the trees separated and a village sat down the hill and across what looked like rice fields from her. _

_Familiarity flooded her. _

"_Priestess…" The whisper brushed against her ear and she closed her eyes as the roots from the trees wrapped around her ankles. "So glad of you to join me once again." The roots moved up, circling her waist then her wrists as she was lifted off of the ground. _

"_Give it to me, the Shikon no Tama." She watched the ground fall away, gasped as she suddenly saw the world upside down. The horizon where blue met green. "Give it to me Priestess." Pain seared her side as blood fell, tangling in the black strands of her hair much like the glowing orbs had. She reached out as the pain grew in intensity and as a small glass ball fell past her outstretched hand. _

"It's a dream, you're dreaming." A soothing voice whispered out to her as she lunged straight to sitting, the heart monitor at the side of the bed beeping furiously. Her side ached, her lungs ached and as she moved her hand to brushed her hair back from her face she found it trapped by another. Kagome looked up a the hands owner, saw Kaze watching her with a concerned look and let out a slow breath to steady herself.

"Are you alright?" Kaze shifted as she laid back, was happy to see some of the color come back into her face and bit back the urge to ask her what the dream had been about.

"Yes," Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat then nodded to emphasize. "Yes, I'm fine." She looked at him, he looked back, disbelief written all over his face. "What time is it?" She pulled her hand from his, looked down at her IV and scowled at the bruise the needle had caused.

"It's about nine." Kaze watched her for a moment longer then stood and stretched. His back cracked audibly and Kagome gave him a horrified look. He grinned and shifted, cracking his knuckles, shoulder blades then finally his neck.

"That's disgusting."

"It's freeing woman, you don't know what you're talking about until you try it." He moved over to a small bedside tray, picked up a can of sprite and opened it, taking a drink.

"Hey, hey. That can probably costs me twenty bucks in this place." She scowled at him then at the room itself. Why the hell was she still here?

"Relax, I bought it last night and never drank it." He moved over, held it out to her and she took it gratefully.

The warm liquid burned slightly as it trailed down her dry throat and she closed her eyes.

"Cheer up, you should be leaving this place today." He sat back down next to her, relaxed and gave her an easy going smile when she looked at him again.

"I hope you're right. I could really use a shower."

"You smell pretty enough to me."

Kagome wrinkled her nose. "You spend most of your time sniffing corpses, I would hope I don't smell that bad." He laughed then turned to look at the door as the doctor walked in.

"Ms. Higurashi. How are you feeling today?" Kagome watched him as he moved around the bed and wondered if he would ever consider wearing a hair piece, his bald head was so shiny it hurt her eyes.

"Kagome?" She looked at Kaze.

"What? Huh? Sorry…" She looked back at the doctor. "I just woke up, I'm a big groggy. How are you today Dr. Takahashi?" Her voice sweetened just a bit and she watched his lips thin.

"How is your head feeling?" He moved to check the monitor, then his clip board.

"It feels like it's sitting happily on my shoulders and like it's ready to venture out into the world once again." Kaze bowed his head a bit to hide a smile and Dr. Takahashi looked at Kagome, unaffected by the joke.

"And the dreams?" The change in her expression was instantaneous, and he clucked his tongue. "I want to keep you another night."

"What?" She nearly yelled as she sat straight once again.

"If you are still having dreams that are out of the ordinary, then I want to keep monitoring you. Maybe you had more damage than we initially thought." Kagome stared at him, then narrowed her eyes into a glare.

"A dream is just a dream, it was about ponies and fairies and little leprechauns that sat at the end of rainbows waiting for me to steal their gold. I want to go _home_, I am absolutely NOT spending another night in this place where you're going to charge me an arm and a leg just because of some stupid dreams!" She smacked her hand down on the guard rail on the side of the bed which squeaked in protest.

Dr. Takashi thinned his lips again then his face softened and he let out a sigh.

"You can go home, if, and I do mean if you stay with someone who can watch over you tonight. No driving, no working or running around until I say so." Kagome nodded quickly in agreement and shifted to stand. "Not so fast Ms. Higurashi. I want to see and talk to the person you go home with." He grabbed her shoulder, making her stay seated.

"I'll take her home." Kagome looked over at Kaze, then felt her face flush, having momentarily forgotten he was even in the room. Dr. Takahashi furrowed his brows then nodded in agreement.

"I'll start filling out the paper work." He moved from the room, closing the door behind him quietly.

Kaze flicked his violet eyes to Kagome's and offered her an impish grin. "I hope you like bed rest."

"Was that supposed to be a perverted joke?" She couldn't help but smile as his laugh rang around the room.

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x

She moved up the wooden stairs with him and smiled at his back, covered slightly by her yellow backpack.

"That's a really good color on you." She commented as he stopped in front of a plain white door with the imprints of numbers that used to be there. "23 huh?"

"I meant to call to get that fixed." He grabbed his keys and unlocked the door, moving inside and sat her pack down on the carpet then turned and looked at her as she moved inside after him. "I'm not prepared for company, so you can wait here right?" She watched him, amusement crossing her face at his slightly awkward stance and at the awkward look on his face.

"Don't have girls come over very often I take it?"

"Keh." He snorted and moved quickly through the living room before disappearing into another room, closing the door behind him. Kagome smiled as she closed the front door behind her and looked around his apartment.

There was a single black couch, with a small entertainment center that held a TV and DVD player sitting in front of it. She shifted and moved to the living room, trailing her fingers over the back of the couch and furrowed her brows.

"A DVD player, but no movies?" She turned in a circle, and frowned a bit. The barren apartment wasn't what she had been expecting based on his personality. She looked towards the closed door at a muffled curse, and a thumping sound had her smiling as she moved to the kitchen. There was a black square table that sat four sitting in what she assumed was a small dining room area that overlooked the kitchen through a bar like counter top.

Kagome looked around again, searching for pictures or anything that looked like it was intended to make the place seem like home and came up empty.

'How odd…'

Sitting down in one of the wooden chairs she rested her arm on the table then looked down at it. Files were scattered over the shiny black surface and she stood up again as her heart was suddenly thumping in her throat. Brushing her fingers slowly over the files she furrowed her brows as she saw a woman's name. Biting her lower lip Kagome glanced towards the closed door and picked up the file, sliding a finger between the pages to open it.

"Miko, Kikyou…" She whispered then looked up as something shifted in front of her.

Her heart turned to ice in her chest.

Kaze stood in the doorway, a towel clenched in his hand hard enough to turn his knuckles white. His eyes were cold and hard, and the anger was so apparent on his face that Kagome felt that the breath had been knocked from her lungs with one swift punch.

"I…" She started, then stopped as he moved forward. His strides were slow, controlled and Kagome felt sorry for anyone on the wrong side of his anger. She let the file slip from her hand, it landing softly on the table as a picture slid out.

"I put clean sheets on the bed." He stopped in front of her, held out the towel to her as the muscle in his jaw jumped with each clench of his teeth. She briefly wondered if he could possibly be strung any tighter than he was right now, and what would happened if he snapped. "The bathroom is in the bedroom, you can clean yourself up there."

She watched the struggle in his eyes and she parted her lips, wanting to reach out an touch him so suddenly that she nearly did.

"I…I'm sorry. I just…" She trailed off as he turned away, moving into the kitchen.

Kagome stared after him for a heart beat then moved to the bedroom and closed the door softly behind her. Her hands shook as she leaned back against the door pushing them through her hair, her lungs quivering as she took in a shaky breath, closing her eyes.

Was he the same man that had been taking care of her…?

x

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He flicked his dark eyes from the crisp sheet of paper in his hand to the long set of gray stairs rising away from him with a slow smile.

"Higurashi Shrine. You have something of mine…"

* * *

Quotes: 'Matsuri Uta' from _Blue Seed_

A/N: I know, I know. It was short and probably not all that good. But this was originally supposed to be a part of chapter four, but I didn't want to make one chapter THAT long so here you are. I'll be posting chapter six soon to make up for it!

…Nuclotei

**Thanks**

**KiwiClover-**Thank you for your wonderful praise once again! I was glad the black-out scenes ended up working as well as they did! And you are SO right, there is just something about InuYasha that always stood out in bold lettering to me that he should be a cop. So I made him one! ^^ Thanks again!

**1uvakindmom**- Thank you! Here is your update, not as soon as I had hoped, but here none the less!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I'm trying to be better at updating as you can see, and tonight I had a serious lucky writing strike so you get another chapter! I don't think that they ever name Kagome's mother, but for some odd reason Emiko sticks into my head when I think about her. So that's what I named her, can't just call her 'Mama' the whole time. I don't think I have anything else to say. So, onward!

Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns InuYasha and Co. I just screw them up to entertain fans.

* * *

Chapter Six

Angels and Demons

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_In this world there's sadness so profound you can't even cry_

_Like you're being surrounded by a deep, endless darkness..._

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She sat straight in the bed, breathing hard as the sounds of screams echoed through her head. Kagome pushed her hands through her hair, left them tangled there and bowed her head breathing hard.

The dream was quickly fading from memory, but it left a metallic taste in her mouth that made her stomach roll.

At least it didn't happen while she was awake.

Breathing in deeply she looked around the plain room, white with black furniture like the rest of the apartment, empty and cold.

Moving her hands down to rest on the bed she brushed her fingers over the pillow like comforter and focused on clearing her mind.

Nightmares were the worst.

'_Kagome…_' She lifted her head and looked around slowly.

Had someone just called out her name?

Shifting she looked at the closed bedroom door and saw a light softly shining underneath it.

Frowning she glanced at the clock then slid out of the bed, shivering slightly at the loss of warmth.

"Of course it would only be three in the morning." She muttered as she adjusted her short sleeping shorts and her tank top before moving silently to the door.

Turning the knob and pulling it open she peeked out into the main room then made a soft noise.

He sat at the kitchen table, staring at a file laying in front of him with his hand closed around a short glass of amber liquid she could smell from where she stood. His black hair was hanging loosely around his chest and shoulders and the look of pain on his face was enough to make her heart ache for him.

Kagome hesitated, letting her fingers slip off of the doorknob then moved out into the room. She walked slowly, not wanting to spook him then sat down in the chair across from him, pulling a knee up to her chest and rested her chin on top of it.

He didn't look up, he didn't move except to raise the glass to his lips and swallow the remaining contents of it in one gulp.

Her throat burned in empathy.

"She was my partner." His voice was so soft that Kagome wasn't sure he had actually spoken until he did again. "We'd been together since the academy, worked so well together that they left us together when we graduated and when we started working at the same station." He shifted, looked at Kagome through his bangs.

She stared back at him as his gaze seemed to glow in the soft light, even when her own eyes started to water from the intensity of the look.

"She was always the smart, calculated one. Held her head in a crisis. She was basically my leash, the restraining force to keep me in line. Everyone knew it. I was hot headed, strong and always dived in head first." A faint smile turned his mouth up at the corners, a fond memory she imagined.

"I was stupid, and lucky. Never have been shot, obviously I'm not dead, but she…" He reached for the bottle of whiskey sitting on top of a few of his files and she caught his hand in her own, holding it firmly. Kaze looked at her, surprise flashing across his face. He didn't pull it back, he just simply let them lay on the table as he looked at them, or through them, she wasn't sure.

"What happened?" She asked quietly, but her own voice sounded too loud in her ears, grating on the nerves, invasive and prying. He flicked his gaze to her face then away and suddenly his face was blank, the cop was there now, the caring man was gone.

'He must have loved her very much.' The thought caused a twinge in her heart, had her squeezing his hand slightly.

"We were behind at work. Too many cases, not enough cops. We had just gone through some cut backs and a lot of the guys weren't so happy about it so they split. Transffered, quit, whatever so we split up to work separate cases, even out the workload a bit. I had this woman, she bad been…" He trailed off, tilted his head so they locked eyes again

She got the point before he said it.

"A crime of passion, let's just say. A cut and dry case. All I had to do was locate the guy and bring him in, and he was sloppy. Fucking stupid."

He pulled his hand from hers, rubbed it over his face and exhaled as he leaned back in the chair which creaked softly as he moved.

"Her case was less than cut and dry. A lot less. She was looking for this guy, at least at first we just assumed it was a guy, that was confirmed later. He was linked to murder, organized crime, drugs, the works. She got too involved I guess, we didn't talk about it much after the fight." He paused, she saw it in his eyes, that he had gone off into another memory before shaking himself back. "She got sloppy wanting that collar would have been the biggest bust in history for this place, would have skyrocketed her career." He reached for the glass, a habit, found it empty and glanced at the bottle before looking back at Kagome. "The last time I heard from her I got to listen to her choke on her own blood, screaming and sobbing before he finally put her out of her misery." He lifted a hand, made it look like a gun and pointed it at his own head and pulled the trigger. "Bang."

Kagome felt bile rise into her throat as she watched him. As she wondered how many times he considered swallowing a gun for real; she shuddered as goose-bumps rose on her arms and legs and let her leg slide back to the floor, sitting up straight.

"This guy, the one that killed her goes by the alias Miasma. We have no picture, no ID on the guy, just this thickening file of crimes that are linked to him. Cold, calculated murder, no witnesses, just a voice recording and a fucking laugh that makes you want to slam you fist through his head." He flipped open a file and she briefly caught a glance of a pretty face. Her eyes were staring blankly, her pretty white throat was stained with red, the flesh was torn, ripped open. He turned the page and slid out a picture, studying it for a moment then slid it over to her. She felt her mind rebel against the image of the woman and was quick to focus on the eyes of this woman instead. Miko Kikyou stared up at her from the page. Same pretty eyes, same pale skin, only alive, well and she looked…happy.

Kaze stood slowly and a wobbly, moving to the kitchen with unsteady steps.

Kagome shifted, reached out and brushed her fingers over Kikyou's face slowly.

'_You have a weak heart.'_

She jerked her hand away as the soft voice echoed through her head and pressed her hand to her mouth as nausea swamped her.

She bowed her head and closed her eyes tightly as her throat tightened and as a soft whimper escaped from her mouth.

"Why are you awake so early in the morning anyway?" His voice was muffled to her ears and she struggled to breathe evenly.

"Kagome?" He sounded closer but the roaring in her ears grew in intensity and her head swam as her stomach churned with sickness. "Kagome…?" His hand brushed against her shoulder gently and suddenly everything went quiet, everything inside of her settled. "Are you alright?" He voice was soft, if not a bit slurred and she shivered as his fingers molded around the back of her neck. She moved her hand from her mouth and tilted her head back, looking up at him.

He stood above her, a open water bottle in one hand. His eyes were dark, shadowed by his bangs, but they were concerned and…

A shiver rocked her body slightly and she quickly squished the butterflies that sprang to life in her stomach.

She wasn't about to take advantage of the man while he was drunk, while he was hurting.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Her voice quivered as his hand shifted, as his thumb brushed gently against her throat, slowly.

"Are you sure?" He leaned down, and her breath caught as the distance closed between them then she blinked as he pressed the water bottle to her forehead. "Your face is flushed." Kagome closed her eyes briefly then cleared her throat.

Goddamn him.

"I'm kind of concerned about my mother. I called her to let her know that I wasn't going to make it over there last night again, but just got the answering machine. She hasn't called me back" She sighed and stood. He didn't move back and continued to watched her. "I…" She hesitated, looking up at him "guess she's pretty mad at me." Kaze tilted his head, took a drink of water then stepped back from her with a slow nod.

"I'll take you there on my way to work in a few hours." Kagome nodded and pushed her hands through her hair as she yawned softly. "You should go back to bed." He tilted the bottle up to his lips, taking another drink.

"Only if you come with me." He lowered the water bottle slowly, watched her as her face flushed more. "I mean, it's your bed, and you have to work soon and I don't feel comfortable stealing it from you." She explained then nearly scowled as a grin slowly spread across his handsome face.

"Lead the way then."

"It's your apartment." She nearly grumbled under her breath, her face burning from embarrassment.

Kaze set the bottle down and followed her to the bedroom slowly, using the walls for support as he walked unsteadily.

"I'll go ahead and warn you, I get a little touchy feely when I'm drunk. So stay on your side of the bed and don't touch me unless you want to be raped." He flopped face first onto the bed then snored.

"You're not funny." She did grumble this time as she jerked the covers out from under him a bit then wiggled under them, getting comfortable.

He chuckled, a low sound that came from somewhere deep in his chest and that had her toes curling under the blankets. She pulled the, up to her chin as he managed to slide up and under them with her.

"Are you hiding from me?"

Kagome snorted. "Of course not, I'm cold." As if to prove a point she snuggled down more into the bed.

"Then let me help you with that." Her heart stuttered in her chest as he shifted, rolled over and rested his head on her slender shoulder. His arm wrapped around her waist as his fingers barely slipped into the waistband of her shorts, pressing against her hip. "Better?" He mumbled out sleepily and she barely managed a nod, her heart thudding behind her ribcage.

'Get a grip. Stop acting like some little high school girl.' She scolded herself mentally.

"You smell really good." He whispered against her neck and her breath caught in her chest.

"I hope you have a hangover." She whispered fiercely as his breathing evened out in sleep.

x

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x

Kagome watched him from her place on the bed. She was stretched out on her stomach, chin resting in her palms as she kicked her legs back and forth.

"Is this your normal morning routine?" She asked cheerfully and he paused long enough to glare at her through his wet bangs.

She smiled prettily in response and watched him struggled to put on his shirt with one hand, using the other to hook his badge to his belt and had a piece of toast she had made him hanging out of his mouth.

He was tired, he had a hell of a hangover, and he was already late.

"You could try helping me get ready instead of laying there being entertained by this. Fucking hell." He snarled at his badge as it fell to the floor and he tossed the rest of the toast onto his dresser.

"I would love to help you sweetheart, but I'm so worn out from last night that I don't think I can move." She yawned and rolled over onto her back, stretching with a content noise.

Slowly his face came into view, upside down with his ponytail hanging over his shoulder.

"Last night…?" His voice cracked and she reached up slowly and patted his cheek gently.

"Was amazing wasn't it?" He opened his mouth, furrowed his brows in confusion, closed it again then frowned.

"I…"

"Wow, is that the time? It's already nine, huh?" She looked at the clock and his head snapped to the side, looking at it as well.

"Fuck!"

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She moved up the shrine steps slowly, smiling to herself as she breathed in the fresh morning air. She had punished him enough to feel satisfied for his drunk teasing ways the night before. He'd bugged her the whole drive over, about last night, about what they had talked about, what they had 'done' and she had kept quite the whole time until he was finally frustrated enough that he lapsed into angry silence.

"Let that show him." She grinned as she reached the top of the stairs then stopped and stared.

Men were carrying things into the house slowly, furniture, boxes of tableware and a large flat screen TV.

"What the hell? Hey! You! What the hell are you doing?" She yelled at the nearest man who paused to look at her.

"Kagome, dear!" Her mother moved out from the doorway and over to her.

"Mama, what is going on? Where did you get all of this stuff? Where did you get the money for all of this stuff?" She watched her mother as she took her hands, excitement lighting up her face.

"Oh the best thing happened last night!"

Kagome waited, raised her eyebrows sharply and her mother let go of her hand to fan her face.

"Oh this man, I don't even know his name God bless him came here looking for some information. He paid me forty-thousand American dollars for a box of scrolls your grandfather had collecting dust in the shrine house."

Kagome choked, coughed, and doubly over as her head swam.

"F-forty…that's…jesus…that's over three million yen!" She felt like hyperventilating and her mother let out an excited little shout.

"Oh Kagome, you'll never have to give me money again! I can even pay you back!"

"Mama!" Kagome stood straight and grabbed her shoulders. "Who in their right mind would pay that much money for a box of old useless scrolls?!" She shook her a bit.

"K-Kagome, calm yourself. It wasn't anything we would have wanted to keep!" Kagome shifted, let out a shaky breath and nodded, then nodded again.

"Well what were on them?"

Emiko shifted, looked the thoughtful for a moment. "Come to think of it Kagome, they were the scrolls that this shrine is kind of famous for." At her daughters blank look she waved her hand. "You know they were about the legend of the Shikon No Tama."

Kagome felt her blood freeze in her veins as her pupils shrank in shock.

'_Shikon no Tama…give it to me.' _The voice rumbled distantly in her head.

"The…Shikon no Tama…?" Kagome dropped to the ground as her legs collapsed out from under her and as nausea swamped her, making spots dance in front her eyes.

"Kagome!"

* * *

Quotes: 'Cross My Heart' from _Ayashi no Ceres_

A/N: And the plot thickens! (As if it wasn't thick enough. XD) Here is another chapter! It's rather short too, man, that's depressing. I'll try to make the next chapter a bit longer. Hope you enjoyed it and give me some feedback!

…Nuclotei

**Thanks**

**SageHitek:** Thank you so much for your encouragement, here is chapter six ready and waiting for you!

**GirlWthThrnNHrSd:** Oh I have those types of daydreams plenty too since I've been writing this story! Thank you for reviewing, you make me so happy I could cry! T___T


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Okay, this chapter will be a bit short! Just a warning, it'll also not be as exciting as the other chapters, but I promise that they'll only get better from here! Sorry I took so long to update, I'm going to try really hard to at least put out on chapter a month! At least. I know that's still a long time but things are kind of hectic on my end! I'm getting ready for big life changes here! Enjoy ^^.

Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns InuYasha and Co. I just screw them up to entertain fans.

* * *

Chapter Seven

Angels and Demons

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_When I think about expressing my feelings,_

_why do the words suddenly disappear?_

_Even though I realize what's so precious,_

_so irreplaceable, I can't say it._

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The steps creaked loudly as she moved down them to the lower wooden floor. She gripped the stair rail tightly as she squinted into the dark shrine. She was sure that this was where her dream about the Shikon no Tama had started.

Sunlight shown in rays across the dusty room, causing the shadows to seem darker, creepier and Kagome stopped next to the covered well and tilted her head back, looking up at the ceiling. Chills skittered down her spine and left her skin cool and clammy as she blew out a breath.

How could she have possibly of known what the shrine ceiling looked like in her dream?

Shaking her head slightly she looked back to the old covered well and looked over the white ward that adorned the two planks of wood and her heart skipped a beat as she thought she saw it glow for a moment.

Reaching out slowly her heart started pounding uncomfortably in her chest; she wanted to open it. Parting her lips she let out a shaky breath as a soft gust of air flowed up from the seam of the pieces of wood, brushing her finger tips then she screamed as something wrapped around her ankle.

Kagome looked down quickly as she jumped to the side, her hip bumping sharply against the side of the well.

"B…Buyo!" The terror left her almost instantly as a bubble of surprised laughter rocked her back on her heels. "Scared me to death!"

"Kagome? Kagome?" She looked up the stairs to the sliding doors, saw her mothers face appear, flushed with worry.

"I'm in here Mama!" Kagome leaned and picked the rotund cat up in her arms.

He purred.

"Kagome, you shouldn't be playing in there. It's dangerous." Kagome held back a laugh as she moved up the steps, squinting a bit as she sunlight hit her face.

"I'm not a child anymore Mama, besides, I wasn't playing." She moved in front of her mother, smiled and held up the cat. "I was retrieving this." Buyo yawned hugely and flicked an ear.

Emiko waved a hand, slightly flustered and continued her chore of sweeping, looking down at the ground.

"I know you're not a child. Old habits die hard I supposed. When you were a little girl, you used to play in there all of the time. I was constantly shooing you out." Kagome leaned and sat Buyo down on the ground and he immediately plunked down and began licking himself, tail twitching.

Kagome made a soft contemplative noise then looked down at her watch, cringing slightly at the time. "Mama, I need to get going. There are some things I need to take care of today."

Emiko looked up then moved to her daughter and wrapped her arms around her, squeezing gently, broom still in hand. "Are you sure you're alright?" Her voice was concerned and loving, a sound only a mother could a achieve with such perfection.

"I promise Mama. I didn't get much sleep last night and it must have been the shock of hearing that someone would pay that much money for a box of dusty old scrolls." She rubbed her hand across her mother's back soothingly, she hated to lie but honestly, she wasn't sure herself of what was going on.

"Speaking of!" She pushed Kagome back by her shoulders suddenly, holding onto her as the broom fell to the stones, clattering loudly. "I want to give you some of that money, to pay you back for taking such good care of me." Kagome started shaking her head before her mother was even finished speaking.

"No Mama, I make more than enough money and you've taken care of me my whole life. It's your money, keep it, a few years of service to the greatest woman in the world doesn't need any sort of repayment." Kagome smiled, kissed her on the cheek then turned walking to the top of the steps. "Just don't spend it all in one place!" She called over her shoulder playfully as she pulled out her cell phone to call a cab, descending down the stone stairs.

Emiko watched her daughter until she was out of sight then moved to the well house and slid the door closed slowly, closing her eyes for a moment.

"Maybe I should invest in a padlock with some of that money." She told herself as she latched the door closed and bent, grabbing her broom stick so she could continue her daily chores.

Kagome slid into the back seat of the cab as it pulled up to the curb and told the driver her address as she settled and looked out of the window. It was a beautiful cloudless day, the kind that made you want to find work to do outside, and everyone seemed to be doing just that. The city passed by quickly as the car weaved its way in and out of heavy traffic and bumbling people.

'I used to play in the well shrine all of the time.' She thought as she tapped her nails on her thigh. 'That's how I knew what the roof looked like, and come to think of it. Grandpa used to tell me stories about the Shikon no Tama, even used to sell key chains at our shrine. It was the biggest attraction. "The jewel of power and fortune." ' She could hear his slightly raspy voice call over a crowd of teenage girls, looking for good luck charms and cell phone straps and smiled at the memory. She felt her the anxiety slowly melt away as she rationalized the dream and felt idiotic for getting worked up over it.

The cab stopped at a light and Kagome watched the pedestrians cross in front, watched them move across the street then leaned a bit towards the other side of the cab as she saw a familiar motorcycle before looking at the building it was parked in front of with a soft noise.

"Come on, come on!" She gasped in startled surprised and looked forward as the cab driver stuck his hand on the horn, held it to move the people that were lagging behind with effectiveness only achieved by the fact that he revved his engine warningly as the light changed colors.

She gazed at the police station as they drove past then looked down at the bruise in the crook of her elbow from her IV, moving her fingers over it gently.

Such and odd relationship the two had, and yet, the attraction she had towards him held strong. Towards a man she hardly knew anything about, who she had hardly scene more than one side to. She thought about the picture of the woman, his partner…

"In more ways then one." She whispered softly to herself then quickly pushed the thought away as her heart squeezed in her chest. She couldn't possibly be jealous of a dead woman.

Shaking her head she looked back out of the window and wondered what the odd detective was doing now.

x

xXx

x

He moved through the bullpen, donut hanging out of his mouth as he waved at another detective who passed by, a horde of donuts stacked precariously on a napkin.

He briefly considered stealing them then thought better of it as he turned the corner, walking into the Captain's office.

"Cap'n." He swallowed the remainder of his donut whole then grinned before flopping into one of two chairs sitting across from the large dark cherry wood desk his commanding officer was perched at.

A short, rotund man who might have been good looking in his younger days drummed his fingers and stared Kaze down from across the desk, the shiny gold name tag on the front reading "Captain Jineh".

"It's nice to see you Taishou." He drawled out, deadpanned.

"Oh you too sir. It's been what, two days?"

"Don't get cute with me." Kaze sat a bit straighter and managed to contain his grin for a more sober expression.

"Yes sir, sorry sir."

"Did you sleep well last night Taishou?" Kaze blinked and tilted his head in thought then shook it.

"I don't remember…"

"And yesterday? Did you forget about the fact that you have a job? Crime doesn't sleep Taishou, and you aren't going to either if you pull another stunt like that. You didn't call."

"Nor write sir." Kaze couldn't help it, it slipped out and he ducked in time to avoid getting hit with a flying stapler. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry sir." He stood and straightened his clothes, frowning slightly as he wiped glaze on the bottom of his shirt from his thumb and pointer finger. " I didn't show up because I was taking care of a friend that was injured. I should have called it in, but I was a bit distracted."

"Taishou. The hooker that you took home the night before last and damaged doesn't excuse you from missing work." He tossed a folder onto the desk in front of him. "You have a new case. Get to work."

"Yes sir." Kaze leaned and grabbed the file then walked out sticking his tongue out at the manila file, grumbling as he rounded the corner and moved back to his desk.

Flopping into his seat he tossed the folder onto his desk and picked up his phone, dialing Miroku's number. He waited for a moment then grinned a bit as the line on the other end picked up.

"Hey. You busy?" He leaned back in his chair and pulled Kagome's license from his pocket, looking at it absent mindedly. "No, just wanted to know if you wanted to get drinks tonight at the bar." He paused then scowled, tucking it away. "Yes I'll remember. Yes! I'll show up. Fuck, you nag." He said annoyed and snapped the phone back down then looked at the file, tugging it to him. Kaze huffed as he flipped it open and got to work.

~xXx~

Kagome squinted into the dark tunnel then slowly reached her hand in, mindful of spiders and was happy to pull her mail out arachnid free. She clicked the box shut and turned, walking up the stairs to her apartment. Flipping through the mail absent mindedly and paused as her eyes adjusted to the shock of meeting a bright yellow flier.

"A self defense class huh?" She laughed softly to herself as she imagined kicking some moron at the bar upside of the head in a Dolce and Gabbana micro mini with stiletto heels as she unlocked her door and swung it open.

"Honey, I'm home." Moving to the kitchen she dropped the mail on the counter then hit the play button on her answering machine to pause the blinking light alerting her of a message.

"Ms. Higurashi, this is Mr. Giles from work. I am calling about your absence yesterday, I wrote it down as a no call no show, and considering you have yet to show up for work today we're going to go ahead and make that two. If you value your job, you'll get back to me as soon as possible." A sharp click had her erasing the message as Kagome rubbed a hand over her face. She sighed and picked up the phone preparing herself for a very long conversation with a lot of apologizing.

Thirty minutes later she stretched out on the couch in front of the TV and flipped it on with a slow and huge yawn. Luckily she was able to have the hospital fax over her excuse along with a "Return to Work" form rather quickly to the office. Mr. Giles wasn't happy about her prolonged absence but begrudgingly accepted the note and even managed to tell her to "feel better" before hanging up on her.

At least work was taken care of.

She yawned again and slowly closed her eyes, giving in to the comfortable feeling of sleep. She shifted as dreams started to stir in the back of her mind.

"_Kagome…"_

~xXx~

He moved into the smoky bar and around an already drunken couple who were sucking face so much he was amazed that they hadn't sucked each others' tongues out of their head.

"Get a damned room." He muttered as he headed towards his normal table where Miroku already sat, his blazer folded over the back of his chair and his tie hanging loosely around his neck.

"Hey." Kaze waved a hand as he sat and ignored Miroku's glare as he waved over a waitress with a flick of his wrist and a charming smile.

"You're late." Miroku grumped.

"It's not a date." He looked back at Miroku after whispering his order softly to the waitress then offered the business man a charming smile. "After all, I don't date ugly chicks like you."

"Your boobs aren't hardly big enough for me." Miroku shot back and Kaze looked down at his chest as the waitress set his beer down.

"I don't have boobs!" Miroku laughed and shook his head, taking a drink and relaxed back into the wooden chair.

"So, why did you suddenly want to meet? You blew me off last night."

"I was preoccupied."

"With?" Kaze leaned back in his chair and wrapped his hand around his beer mug, looking at it silently. "Oh come on. We're best friends, you can tell me!"

"With Kagome."

"Kagome, Kagome…oh, that woman? The one that…"Miroku trailed off and cleared his throat. He remembered just in time not to compare her to Kikyou though the resemblance was uncanny, enough to make the older man worry just a bit.

"Yes. That woman. Kagome." Kaze's voice was a bit icy and he took a long drink. Miroku watched him for a moment.

"You like her?" An ill tempered shrug met Miroku's curious gaze. "So…you don't like her?"

"No, I mean. Yes. I mean. I like her, she's a good woman, nice. It's just, I feel really strange around her."

"Strange?" Miroku's brows rose and Kaze shifted uncomfortably under his piercing gaze.

"Yes strange. I don't know how to describe it. She just makes me feel…" He trailed off for a moment, and the pause was long enough that Miroku saw that he knew exactly how the woman made him feel. "I just don't know okay. It's complicated." Kaze snapped slightly.

"Ah." Miroku's replied was bland, lacking a tone of opinion then he sighed heavily. "Women are complicated." He took a long drink then grinned suddenly. "But I have a good idea."

Kaze eyed him suspiciously. "What?"

"Just ask her to bare your children."

~xXx~

" "The Shikon no Tama, or Jewel of Four souls contains the four souls of Midoriko, a priestess and the souls of the demons she had purified. Whoever holds the jewel can be given great power for good or for evil depending on who's winning the eternal battle inside. " " He looked over the old and slightly crumbling scrolls one by one, learning of how the jewel was created, of where it had traveled and who had collected it through time.

"Fascinating, this is simply fascinating." He chuckled lowly and reached into the box for the last scroll, the one that would tell him what happened to the jewel, the one that would reveal it's location. He pushed the other scrolls to the side and slowly unrolled the final scroll, looking it over as his pupils shrank.

"Blank?" His voice quivered in barely contained fury as he gripped the scroll in his hands, ripping in half with a snarl.

* * *

Quotes: 'Sepia no Hi ' from _Card Captor Sakura_

A/N: Okay so I totally don't like the chapter I just wrote, but the next ones really will be better. This is just one of those chapters that you need to build the story, but are kind of dull. There won't be many of these I promise!

…Nuclotei


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: After such a long delay I got a wild hair last night and started rereading this story and as I reread this story over again I notice how much I REALLY like it. It's rare for me to read over something and go "Damn, that isn't bad." I only wish more people would give it a chance. I know in the beginning people don't want to read it because they think InuYasha isn't in it but that isn't the case! I'll stop with the self love now and get to the writing. ^^ Thanks for your continuing support.

Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns InuYasha and Co. I just screw them up to entertain fans.

* * *

Chapter Eight

Angels and Demons

x

xXx

x

_Please teach me how to live_

_A little more vulnerably than I do now_

_Won't you taint me just a little?_

x

xXx

x

He moved from his bike to the door to the old building, stuck on the wrong side of town and the worst side of the street as he pulled out his weapon. He checked his surroundings, noted the black SUV with the tags that told him this is where he needed to be and briefly glanced down at the radio hanging from his belt and made the decision to go in without backup.

Hell, it was just one guy, how good could the one lowlife be? Especially since he just got the case and was already damned sure he was about to make the easiest bust of his career.

Cockiness had him moving forward, trying the door handle first and finding it to be locked.

Over confidence had him rearing back and slamming his steel toed boot into the door, and luck had it breaking in one hit.

He squinted into the dark of the dust and mould that had risen from his brutal entry and pulled out his flashlight, announcing himself.

"This is the police, come out with your hands up!" He always felt _so _lame saying it like that, as if he were apart of a cheap cop drama and moved into the room, doing a quick sweep with his light.

A blur of movement had his adrenaline kicking into high gear as a man ran right past him and up the stairs, knocking the light from his hand and he didn't wait a beat before running after him.

"Freeze!" He snarled as the guy bolted up creaking wooden stairs then his heart stuttered in his chest as he saw the mans hand reach down into the back of his pants, he watched with calculating eyes as the man spun around, aiming the gun and firing.

Kaze cursed as he dove down hard onto the stairs, a bullet screaming past his ear, too close for comfort. Another few shots told him the man had a few more to go after that and his heart pounded in his ears as the adrenaline had him up and moving off of pure instinct.

"Fuck this." He snarled as the man popped off another shot and he leveled his standard issue and squeezed the trigger. The bang was a bit deafening, the sound of the body hitting the floor was anticipated and he was not disappointed as the man lay unmoving on the second floor landing.

Kaze moved up the rest of the stairs, the adrenaline masking the fact that he was sure to have sore ribs from kissing the stair case a moment ago and he moved to the body, weapon still aimed at the head of the gunman.

"Told you to freeze. These guys never listen." He grumbled and took another step forward as the floor creaked loudly. A deafening popping sound followed and he was sure he had just been shot until the floor gave way under him and he crashed hard onto the wood below him, the stair case and landing collapsing down on top of him in a cloud of dust.

…

Kagome moved around her apartment on her hands and knees, staring at the baseboards on the walls, the corners of every room, the little spaces between the bottom of her cabinets and the tile floor in the kitchen, and she prayed to see dirt.

"No dust bunnies, no little carpet fuzzes, no signs of anything living here at all! Come ON!" She made a frustrated noise as she shoved herself to standing.

Her apartment was clean; so clean in fact, that everything seemed to sparkle like it was apart of the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz. It was so, very, frustratingly clean that she wanted to go outside, grab a handful of dirt, wet it and sling it around the place.

She was out of work for a few days, day time TV, she was positive, would melt your brains out of your skull, her head hurt too much to pay attention to small lines in books, so she cleaned.

And she cleaned.

And cleaned.

Kagome leaned over the counter, thunked her head down on it and sighed.

"God damn it, I'm bored." She said to no one, exasperated. Working was not an option, drinking was not an option, and if she couldn't drink she couldn't go to bars, and if she couldn't go to bars then she couldn't pick up any interesting men, and if she couldn't do that, well…

The thought trailed off as she thought about Kaze and she quickly squelched the warm glow starting in her lower stomach as she imagined his handsome face, his spicy smell and his perfectly formed body.

She heaved a heavy sigh. God, he was a good looking man.

Sliding her fingers along the counter top slowly at the thought of sliding her fingers along his chest she grinned a bit then she lifted her head as they brushed along a piece of paper. Shifting she grabbed it and pulled it over, chin resting on the counter top as she attempted to read it. Her retinas burned and her eyes crossed a bit as they skimmed over the bright yellow flier and she shrugged, standing straight.

"What the hell, don't have anything better to do."

…

Kagome slung her gym back over her shoulder as she moved to the glass door that simple read "Self Defense" and wrinkled her nose at the lack of detail. She had noted that her car was one of three in the parking lot as she pushed open the door, the sounding of the welcoming chime meant to alert the lazy workers of the building someone was walking in seeming kind of absurd. If it was a self defense class, did they really have to worry about someone sneaking in for some malevolent purpose?

Looking around she scanned the floor covered in blue mats, the walls lined in spotless mirrors to the back of a slender, shapely woman, her beautiful dark chestnut hair pulled up into a straight, slick pony tail as she talked to a smaller older woman.

"Ah, excuse me?" She called out to them then jerked a shoulder as the woman turned around to face her with a warm smile, her brown eyes just as warm an inviting.

Kagome suddenly heard her heartbeat pounding in her ears, the sound of the woman's voice playing through her mind before she even spoke, those warm brown eyes tired, fragile, her beautiful skin covered in bruises.

"_You need to apply pressure to the wound…"_

"Hello! Sorry, I'll be right back." The woman turned and said to the woman then moved to Kagome. "What can I do for you?"

Kagome shook herself free of the memories of the dream and managed a small smile, but was sure the color had drained from her face. "Ah, I'm here for the class." She managed to get it out without sounding strange and shifted as the bell chimed over the door to signal more people arriving.

"Well, you're a bit early, but I don't mind going over a few of the basics with you. I'm Sango." The woman held out her hand and Kagome shook it, familiarity flooding her.

"Kagome."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." She smiled, then waved at the other people before leading Kagome to the other side of the room, weight machines and various other punching bags and tools for training scattered along the floor. "This is a pretty easy class, you came at a really good time. I'm the instructor and I'll go over the basics of self defense and as you progress, the more you learn naturally."

Kagome nodded her understanding and looked around.

"You look like you're about the same size as me. Here, put these on, they'll protect your knuckles." Sango handed over fingerless gloves to the smaller woman. "I want you to get a feel for the punching bag while I talk to my other students, we'll be using this today since my usual helper decided to skip out of work." The smile that she gave made Kagome understand she did not want to be on the receiving end of that look and nodded again.

"Okay, I think I can handle that."

"Good." Sango moved away and Kagome turned, looking at the punching bag before poking it lightly with a finger.

"It doesn't look so tough." She mumbled as she poked it a bit harder then looked around before pulling her hand back, balling up her fist and slamming it into the bag. The pain that shot up through her wrist, to her elbow hard her yelping in surprise. The shock of it suddenly made her temper instantly peak and she turned, kicking the bag hard.

…

He sat on the hospital bed, covered from head to toe in dirt and grime, his hair half falling out of it's pony tail, left arm scratched to hell from using it to protect his face and his right arm stuck in a sling. His head pounded as he listened to the ass chewing his Captain was giving him through the cell phone in his left hand.

"…you didn't call for backup, you're costing the station money for your goddamn visit to the hospital and you killed our only suspect! You couldn't have hit him in the leg, or the arm or even the fucking shoulder. No! You had to shoot him through the head!"

"Sir, he was shooting at me and I wasn't wearing a vest." Kaze realized his mistake as soon as he said it and managed to pull the phone away from his ear as the howl of rage and flurry of expletives crackled the speaker on his cell phone. "Besides, Cap'n, even if I hadn't of shot the guy through the skull, he would probably of died from the fall or something anyway." He defended and was met with the slam of a phone in a receiver. "Captain? Hello?" Kaze pulled his phone away from his ear, scowling at it then tucked it away as the nurse, a short rotund lady bustled into the room.

"Mr. Taishou, the doctor said you're welcome to be released, under the condition that you have someone drive you since you're on pain medication and shouldn't be driving that motorcycle with one good arm." She gave him a pleasant smile when he nodded.

His fucking head hurt too much to argue and he pulled his phone back out, punching the numbers in for Miroku with a surly expression.

He waited as the phone rang, and rang then finally picked up, only to be the voice mail and he grumped, calling him again. "Just my luck, when I need you you're unavailable, how fucking convenient." Slamming his phone closed he shifted, looking back at his contacts and scrolled through them and hesitated before hitting send.

…

Kagome grabbed her cell phone from her bag as it vibrated, still breathing hard from the vigorous workout Sango had put them through. "She said this was the easy class? I'd hate to see the hard one." She huffed as she answered her phone. "Hello?"

Pausing she just listened, felt her heart beat pound a bit in her chest then nodded like he could see her. "Y-yeah, of course. I'll be right there. Don't go anywhere!" She hung up, shoved her things in her bag then moved to the door quickly.

"Sorry Sango, I have to go early but I'll be back again!" She called over her shoulder, leaving Sango blinking curiously after her.

…

He slid into the car as she tapped the steering wheel a bit anxiously and gave her a charming grin.

"My hero."

"Yeah well, I suppose I owed you." Kagome looked him over, looked at the sling then at his face as he closed the door and tried not to blanch.

"I know, I look terrible right? It's really not as bad as it looks."

"I'll try to believe that." She smiled at him. "Home?" He shook his head no.

"No, take me back to the station. I have to do my report."

"Can't it wait?" The concern was evident in her voice and he smiled at her.

"I wish it could, my arm and my head wish it could as well, but my Captain is already ready to give me a hundred lashes and I'd really rather not anger him any further today.

Kagome hesitated, deciding whether or not to argue with him then nodded. "Alright, but my fare is going to be pretty steep for this ride."

"Oh yeah? What'll it cost me?"

"I'll think about it." She grinned at him as she drove to the station then slid out as she parked, moving to help him.

"I can handle it from here."

"Don't want me to see your office?" She smiled sweetly and he stared for a moment, mesmerized.

"That…ah, no. That's not it, and it's not really an office, it's more like a cube, with no walls, and only half a desk. But you're more than welcome to come inside, all I can say is, is I have nothing to do with the men in there and you shouldn't believe anything they say."

"I think I can manage." She smiled and followed him inside, looking around at the people running around, looking highly busy and important. "Wow, it's loud in here." He nodded as he moved to his desk, already feeling the eyes of his coworkers boring into his back.

Grabbing a chair from an empty desk he rolled it over to his own before flopping down at his computer turning it on.

"This shouldn't take very long."

Kagome nodded and sat, noting that she was still in her workout clothes, consisting of tight yoga pants, a tank top with her hair pulled up and flushed a bit. He glanced at her, glanced her over then looked up at the ceiling, willing for his mind to stray away from how those clothes hugged her curves.

She watched him as he pulled up what he needed to, as he adjusted the keyboard then she stared as he used his good hand to hunt an peck at the keyboard.

"You're kidding right? We'll be here all day if you do it like that!" She laughed and he blinked at her before grunting as she rolled his chair to the side and slid her chair into place in front of the computer. "Just tell me what to type, and I'll do it. It'll go much faster, hm? Then you can go home and rest without a problem."

He watched her for a moment, a strange feeling moving through him the nodded as he went over every gritty detail of his morning.

…

Kagome's hands shook slightly as she finished typing up the report and she felt a bit sick inside as she hit the save button. Today, the man sitting beside her had killed someone, he had killed a man then had fallen through a set of stairs and survived. She didn't know much about the law, but she had a feeling that he had made plenty of mistakes in the beginning, not calling for backup, not wearing a vest. Not waiting for someone, anyone to help him out.

The man was lucky to be alive.

"How do you do it?" Her voice was surprisingly steady as she looked at Kaze who watched her, his face expressionless.

"Which part?"

"All of it. How do you run into the unknown, how do you find the courage to go into a place knowing that someone might be waiting for you, might be waiting to kill you? How do you…pull the trigger?" He watched her for a moment then leaned close and gently brushed a loose piece of hair back from her face in a tender gesture.

"It's my job." He stated simply then stood, offering his hand to her. "Let's get the hell out of here. I need a drink."

Kagome shifted, rolled his answer over in her head and decided it wasn't good enough, but she left it alone as she took his hand and stood. She followed him out, as wolf whistles and cat calls followed behind them.

"Take it easy on our Detective, miss!"

"Don't ride him too hard, he's kind of fragile!"

"Taishou, you dog you!"

Kagome flushed as Kaze opened the door for her then she looked at him as he cursed lowly, a man with dark hair and dark eyes running up to them, his face flushed with concern.

"Inu…!" He had started to say but was cut off quickly by the death glare of the man in front of him. The man with the gun tucked in the back of his pants. "Christ, Kaze, what the hell happened to you? I saw your missed calls and called the station, they said you'd gotten hurt."

"Oh yeah, thanks for that. For picking up your phone when I really needed you man, appreciate it." Kaze ragged on him and Miroku scowled.

"I was in a meeting."

"With a woman?"

"Fuck off." Miroku said good naturedly then turned to Kagome. "Ah, hi, I'm sorry his manors are lacking and he sucks at introducing people." He held out his hand. "I'm Miroku, the best friend."

"I'm Kagome." She shook his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"And what are you to him?" Miroku leered a bit and Kagome flushed.

"Ah…"

"She's none of your goddamn business, that's what." Kaze delivered a swift smack to the head of his friend.

"Ow! Okay! I got it!" He rubbed the back of his head. "Jeez. I was going to invite you to lunch, my girl'll be there this time, but since you're being such an ass…"

Kaze snorted. "I can't believe she puts up with you." He turned to Kagome. "You hungry?"

"I could eat."

"Let's go then." He grabbed her hand and pulled her after him, glaring at Miroku as he passed by.

Miroku grinned after him.

…

The café was busy, waitress' moving back and forth from the kitchen to the tables, the smell of coffee, soup and baked goods prominent in the air, making Kagome's stomach growl. She grabbed onto the back of Kaze's shirt as they weaved in and out of the people, afraid to lose him in the crowd and he glanced back at her over his shoulder, his expression unreadable for a moment then he smiled at her, making her heart skip a beat.

"Sango!" Miroku waved a hand and Kagome looked quickly to the table where her pretty self defense instructor sat, hair down and face perfect.

"No way." She mused in amazement. "Talk about a small world."

"What was that?" Kaze looked back at her and she grinned and shook her head.

"Nothing."

"You're late!"The woman smacked her hand to Miroku's face as he leaned in for a kiss. "Don't put those womanizing lips on me. Where were you?"

"I was picking him up!"Miroku pointed to Kaze and Sango turned to look at him then grinned widely.

"Oh, you're forgiven then."

Miroku grumbled. "Of course you'll accept seeing him."

"Hey beautiful lady."Kaze grinned at her then pulled Kagome around him. "Sorry we're late, it's really his fault."

"Of course it is." Sango nodded sagely then looked at Kagome and blinked in surprise."Oh! Kagome!"

"Hi." Kagome smiled a bit sheepishly as the older woman looked between the two.

"You're with him? Is that why you left the class early?"

Miroku looked between them.

"You know each other?"

"Kagome just started taking my self defense class, she's really very good at it!"

Miroku looked in horror between then women then at Kaze.

"Oh hell, just what we need, another violent woman." He yelped as Sango smacked him upside of the head.

…

"I like them." Kagome mused as she drove Kaze to his apartment. "Your friends, they're very nice and entertaining people."

Kaze laughed, shifting to relax in the seat. "Why do you think I keep them around?"

"Well it must be nice, having friends back from when you were in high school. I can't say that I have anyone like that. " She looked thoughtful as she pulled up to his apartment and parked the car. "Actually, I can't say that I have any friends at all."

He watched her then sat straight. "No? Surely you have friends."

She shook her head no a bit. "It's strange really, I know a lot of people. But none of them could be considered as friends. Ever since that accident, and being out of touch with the world for so long I just can't seem to connect with anyone."

"Until now." She looked at him just as he closed the distance between them, his lips pressing against hers slowly. She shifted in surprise then let her eyes drift closed as she melted into the kiss.

He kept it slow, painfully so and she slid her fingers up his arm lightly to his shoulder then to his neck as his tongue flicked out playfully against her lower lip. She didn't think, didn't want to think as she parted her lips, felt his tongue flick over hers, seducing and warm and she barely stifled a moan.

Before she knew it, before she wanted it. The kiss was over and he was sliding out of the car.

She blew out a quick breath, willing the punch of lust in her lower stomach to break apart and disperse as he leaned down, looking into the car.

"I want another date." He watched her and she nodded.

"I can handle that."

"Are you sure? As much as I've enjoyed a woman laying down on a first date, I'm not sure if I can take the unconscious part again." He teased and she flushed.

"Well, I think it's safe to say that if I'm going to be laying down around you again, I'll be very much awake." He smirked at her then stood straight.

"Drive carefully" He closed the door and watched her pull out, then adjusted his pants and moved inside.

…

Kagome dragged her feet a bit as she moved up the stairs to her apartment, brushing her fingers over her lips as she remember the way he tasted. It's not like she hadn't kissed a man before, but damn, that was…

"Something else…" She sighed a bit dreamily as she opened her door and walked inside, her heartbeat skipping hard in her chest as she looked around her trashed apartment.

…

"Well, I really wanted something to clean." She joked with the police officers as they searched her apartment. "I don't think anything is missing."

"Whoever was here was looking for something." The officer turned and looked at her. "Have any idea of what it could be?"

Kagome shook her head no as she sat down on the back of the couch.

"Well, you should consider staying somewhere else for tonight. We'll let you know if we find out anything."

She nodded as she watched them walk out, heard the door click closed behind them as she looked around her apartment slowly.

"What a mess." She blew out a breath, tied her hair up and got to work.

…

_She was running._

_The trees of the forest thick around her as bushes snagged at her clothes and limbs grabbed at her hair._

_Her heart pounded in her chest as her lungs sucked air in and blew it out harshly to try and keep up with her over worked system._

"_Kagome…"_

_The voice that called out to her was right behind her. _

_He was right behind her._

_No matter how hard or fast she was running, she couldn't escape. She turned, darting in another direction as his shadowy body appeared in front of her, grabbing her hard._

Kagome opened her eyes quickly with a deep breath, sweat beading her brow and she shifted to look at the clock and froze, a scream catching in her throat as the shadowy figure of a man loomed over her.

* * *

Quotes: Shinjitsu No Uta by _Do As Inifinity_

A/N: How was it? Good? Bad? Boring? A new character has been introduced! Let me know what you think! I even made a longer chapter than normal to make it up to you!

…Nuclotei


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